Sugar Rush:Deleted
by Talkpillow
Summary: A sequel to Sugar Rush:Unplugged. Vanellope has been haunted by nightmares of the deleted racers of Sugar rush. When the nightmares start to come out in the daytime on the race track, suspicion arises that Vanellope may not be fit for the throne. Another adventure with Vanellope, Taffyta, Marshmallow and the deleted. Again rated T just in case!
1. The deleted

Sticky remembered feeling nothing. Absolutely nothing would be the best way to describe being deleted. It had been weeks since Sugar rush had been unplugged and the girl was itching to race. She remembers heading towards a racing game that was popular with the boys of the arcade to play. The other racers advised her not to, they tried to stop her, but she ignored them and went anyways that evening and raced with the other karts and vehicles of the game.

The next thing she recalled was crashing and instead of being catapulted into some soft whip cream or hitting some cherry pie, she was launched straight into the cement and that's when she started feeling the overwhelming feeling of nothing. She knew then that she must had been deleted and she was going to accept the nothing, accept her mistakes that she had made and live forever in this world of nothing.

But then she felt it, she felt it pull her back, the warm tingly feeling grabbing at her from all around her body. It screamed at her from the inside out and yanked her back into the land of the living. Sticky slowly opened her eyes and looked up to the blue pixelated sky that lay out before her. She sat up, slowly, and observed her surroundings. Where ever she was, she was definitely on what looked to be a race track. The grass surrounding was perfectly green and there were a few trees and other minor decorations but other than that the place seemed rather bland.

Sticky used the little strength she had to stand up and walk about, hoping to find somebody. But after several minutes of walking it seemed the girl was in some sort of ghost racetrack as she was literally getting nowhere. "Hello?" Sticky called out and looked around the track, no one responded. Again she called out and waited, but still no one. Sticky had almost given up when she heard the sound of an engine roaring in the distance. Frightened she immediately rushed off the track, fearing that she might be in whoever is driving's way.

Sticky looked out and down at the other end of the track and noticed a kart in the distance, thundering down the way. She squinted her eyes to get a better look, wondering who was driving. Unfortunately she couldn't see the driver but she could make out the red and white design on the kart, which she didn't recognize to be anyone she knew kart.

The kart came closer, and closer, and closer until it slowed to a stop just a foot or two before her. Sticky held her breath as she watched the driver exit the kart and walk towards her. They were wearing a red and white jumpsuit and she couldn't make out their face underneath their helmet which equally matched their outfit. The being stood before sticky and silently watched her, Sticky approached them slowly but wasn't sure if it was a friendly being or a foe.

"H-hello…um my name is Sticky.." she said softly and the being nodded its head. "You know?" she asked and they once again nodded their head. Sticky swallowed the lump in her throat and figured out what to say next. "I'm sorry..but where am I, who are you, and why am I here?" she asked all at once and the being stood still, not saying a word. Sticky swallowed again, unsure what to do. The racer was rather frightening looking and he almost looked like a ghost of some sort, no matter how hard she tried to focus on their face it was as if it was programmed to remain hidden.

"I…I just want to get back to my friends, please explain to me why I am here!" Sticky yelled, finding courage within the frightening moment. The white and red racer seemed amused with her fear and pointed back behind him on the track. Sticky gulped and looked behind the racer and down the track. As soon as she laid eyes on the road she noticed several other karts zooming down the road, all seeming mysterious and almost frightening looking just as this red and white one did before her. But although mysterious the karts had an almost familiar look to them. As they neared Sticky and the phantom racer, her eyes widened as she recognized who the racers were.

Trying to run away, she turned to make a break for it but immediately ran into another being who had been there all along and was knocked over onto the ground. When Sticky looked up she was surprised to see a girl looking strikingly similar to Vanellope, her Sugar rush Princess, only instead of a usual dopey smile this girl had a look that could kill.

"Hello Sticky, welcome to the Racer graveyard…"


	2. Too awake to sleep too tired to think

"Taffyta!" Vanellope screamed, she had been running for a while and her screams sounded choked and desperate as she made her way around the Diet Cola Mountain's top. The hot cola spit and flared at the girl as she tried to find the girl within the smoke and loud roaring noises.

Another shake flew through the Mountain and Vanellope found herself on her knees and trying not to roll off the edge. "Vanellope!" a voice cried and Vanellope perked her head up, looking around for the girl. Summoning all her strength, Vanellope slowly stood up and walked in the direction of the voice as the fire shot up around her. It seemed no matter what way she stepped she was burned or something was thrown at her from the Cola and it caught her hair, clothes, even skin on fire. Tears streaked her face as she felt the smoke and heat enter them, wiping away at them intensified her pain. Still the girl pressed forward.

"Vanellope!" the voice rang out again, closer this time and Vanellope finally found her way to the edge just before the ground sunk down into the hot Cola in the middle of the Diet Cola Mountain. Looking over it she found the girl who was screaming out to her, Taffyta's copy, who looked like she had been through the same trials Vanellope was facing. The girl reached out for her, "Vanellope please…save me!" she yelled looking scared and desperate for help. Vanellope reached her hand out, hoping to grab her in time, but the distance suddenly seemed near impossible and Vanellope found herself falling in.

"I can't..Taffyta, please hang on!" Vanellope yelled down to her and the girls copy gave her a dirty look, "You coward..you aren't even trying, you're going to let me die!" Taffyta yelled back. Vanellope gulped, feeling terrible and looked away from the girl, trying to find the words she could say to calm her down and to help in some way. When Vanellope looked back again she gasped as Taffyta's copy was now actually Taffyta herself. The girl had her usual outfit on instead of the teal getup and instead of a scowl she wore a betrayed sort of look to her. "Vanellope…please.." Taffyta said, trying once more to reach out for her.

Vanellope stood up, getting ready to jump down to the girls level, but was knocked down and over the edge. Vanellope luckily was able to grab onto the side of the crumbling cliff just in time. She attempted to pull herself up but found it incredibly difficult and found her fingers slipping away. "Vanellope Von Schweetz…prepare to meet your doom." A voice called from above, Vanellope looked up to see Nelly standing above her and Taffyta standing next to her. How she had managed to save Taffyta was beyond her and how she had survived the Diet Cola had baffled the teal racer, she let go of the cliff falling straight into the hot sea of Diet Cola.

"Taffyta no!" Vanellope screamed and fell out of her bed. She hit the ground with a loud thud and the poor girl scratched at the back of her head as it had made contact with the candy dresser next to the bed. Marshmallow immediately burst through the doors along with several other Oreo guards and surveyed the place, "Miss Vanellope are you alright?" the guards shouted and Marshmallow rushed to her side, looking her over for injuries.

Vanellope waved them off, "Yeah just fine…bad dreams again.." she mumbled and the guards took a step or two back while Marshmallow helped her up. Vanellope sounded annoyed but he didn't let his fear of upsetting the Princess get in the way of her safety. She had been annoyed several times before with the guards, but nearly half of those times she had also been in danger and needed them. Silly Vanellope always wanted to be brave and take the bullet for the kingdom. But as long as Marshmallow was around, he made sure she didn't do it alone.

The guards exited the room, seeing no sign of real danger, and left the Marshmallow guard with his loyal friend Vanellope who had sat back down on her bed. Vanellope rubbed her eyes as her little treat friend scurried up to the bed to sit next to her. She had been experiencing bad dreams for months now, ever since the funeral.

A month after Sugar rush had turned back to normal and Vanellope was once again the rightful ruler, they had held a giant funeral for the racers who had been deleted along with Taffyta's copy. Sticky, Citrusella, Trovald, Nougestia, and Adorabeezle all had a small little gravestone that was decorated with candy and other assortments that the individual racer had enjoyed while living in Sugar rush. There was a small ceremony where several game characters from other games, candy citizens and the leftover racers all came to pay their respect. A feeling of hopelessness came with every one of the visiting souls as they passed through each grave, but with time their sorrow turned into joy for the memories that they had with the gang and the characters were all able to move on.

All of them except Vanellope, who was still plagued at night with the events. Night after night she would wander back and forth throughout the castle, sleepy but unable to sleep because of the nightmares of the evil Nelly and how her friend and savior of Sugar rush Taffyta's copy had met her fate because of the girl. It wasn't that Taffyta's copy's death was more important to her than the other racers, but seeing her fall to her doom inside the Diet Cola Mountain had left a scar on Vanellope that seemed to cause her distress whenever she tried to rest.

Vanellope sighed and Marshmallow pat her on the shoulder, trying to show her some comfort. "It's been months Vanellope, you need to let the past go.." he said trying not to sound pushy, Vanellope knew he was only trying to help. "But how can I let go Marsh, she…" Vanellope tried to get out but felt her voice catch. She knew why she couldn't let go, she had explained it a thousand times to anyone willing to lend an ear. Vanellope felt guilty, guilty for the innocent character that had to be deleted for an evil beings mistake.

Marshmallow looked at her sympathetically and dropped down from the bed saying, "I think you need to realize that letting go isn't about forgetting…forgetting the people who were wronged and the bad things that happened.." Marshmallow paused and turned to Vanellope, "It's about understanding that bad things happen and forgiving them for happening.". With that Marshmallow walked across the room and out of the door, leaving Vanellope with her thoughts.

Vanellope thought for a moment or two about forgiveness. She recalled the time after Turbo was defeated, when everyone remembered her and begged for forgiveness. Forgiving Taffyta and all the other racers was an easy task; they were wronged and forced into betraying Vanellope. Forgiving Turbo was easy as well, he was just a racer gone crazy with the need to win. But forgiving Nelly for taking Taffyta copy's life? That was not going to be easy.

Vanellope sighed loudly and lay back on her bed, feeling suddenly overwhelmingly sleepy. In a few hours it would be time for the arcade to open, time for her to race, and time for the kingdom of Sugar rush to buzz alive.


	3. Copies and Racer's

"So what's exactly going on between you and Vanellope anyways?" Candlehead asked as the two of them sat at the starting line of the Sugar Rush speedway. Taffyta, who was leaning on her kart, gave the girl an odd look but didn't say anything as Candlehead searched for words to explain further what she wanted to know.

Ever since Sugar Rush was fixed Taffyta had been asked several times by each racer about her and Vanellope's relationship. Taffyta often replied in a sarcastic way or not at all, figuring what was going on between her and Vanellope was none of the others business. It wasn't that she was embarrassed by her relationship, but she just wasn't sure what to say about it.

The two girls had kissed, several times and honestly the way they behaved it would seem to anyone watching that they were dating. But neither girl had said they were, Vanellope never made it official to Taffyta that they were dating therefore Taffyta wasn't sure what they were. Plus Vanellope had been so busy she had hardly spent any time with Taffyta because of her 'Royal duties', causing a sort of strain on their relationship. In a way she felt like she was being difficult but until Vanellope asked her out or spent more time with her, she wasn't going to tell anyone what she was with the girl.

"I mean are you two dating, like girlfriends?" Candlehead asked, looking completely red in the face. Taffyta pulled a sucker out of her pocket, unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth remaining quiet. The two stood there for a while before Taffyta finally said, "Well she is a girl and my friend, so sure." And walked to the other side of her kart, inspecting it. Candlehead sighed and put her hands on her hip, frustrated. "Look I know that you two are friends, Taffyta you know what I mean!" she blurted out and waited for the girl to respond.

Taffyta raised an eyebrow at her, "I can't say I do.." she said and Candlehead rubbed her forehead. Before either girl could get another word in, Candlehead's copy arrived and stood next to her identical twin. "I forgot, was it me who was racing today…or you Candle?" the copy asked and Candlehead sighed. "I told you yesterday it was me first and then you tomorrow, Cake?" Candlehead said sounding irritated. The two often bickered about everything, even about what to call Candlehead's copy since they both couldn't be Candlehead. After a day or two of confusion and different name tries, they both agreed they would call Candlehead's copy, Cake.

Taffyta was happy for Cake's distraction and took the time before the race started to look over her kart. After being kart-less for a few days after the fixing of Sugar Rush, Vanellope and Taffyta went to the Kart maker factory and made a new one for the pink racer. It looked exactly the same as her original kart, only now it had Taffyta and Vanellope's names on the bottom right side of the kart in small letters.

Taffyta smiled at the memory and recalled how terribly messy the entire event was when the girls foolishly tried to make this kart. After a few mistakes the girls were finally able to make the replica of Taffyta's kart and later Vanellope's, which they needed Ralph's help for.

As the morning continued on and the arcade was going to be open within the hour, more and more karts arrived with racers packed in them. Today was the original Sugar Rush racers turn to drive while the copies watched. Gloyd arrived with his copy Red, Rancis arrived with his copy Ran, Snowana was next with her copy Rainbeau, Swizzle with Mark, Crumbelina with Carmella, Minty with Minny, and finally Jubileena with her copy Jujubes.

The starting line was filled with racers and copies alike, buzzing with noise and preparations for the race. Taffyta seemed a little out of place standing alone with her kart and wished she still had her copy as well to prepare for races with. But Taffyta knew that such a wish was impossible to grant, especially after the events of Diet Cola Mountain.

The arcade was officially opened and the alarm sound, warning them for an upcoming race. All the racers climbed into their karts, their copies rushed off to the side waving them goodbye, and revved their engines as the clock's numbers dropped. Whoever was playing their game had chosen Taffyta, which was no surprise. Taffyta always got the morning races, that or she would at least get one race a day from a child at the arcade.

As the clock neared 0 Taffyta heard a screeching of wheels and turned in her seat to find Vanellope rushing into line at the last minute. The teal racer looked tired but determined to be racing, behind her sat Marshmallow who seemed to be disagreeing with her at something again. Taffyta smiled and turned in her seat, happy to see Vanellope had made it in time, and hit the gas to start the race off.

* * *

Vanellope heard the alarm just as she was taking the stairs down to the first floor. "Shoot!" Vanellope yelled and made a mad dash through the grand throne room into the hallway. The Oreo guards nearly tripped over themselves as they saw the Princess leaving and try to catch up with her. "Guys, I'm just going to a race!" Vanellope yelled back at them as they marched behind her.

A month or so ago the people of Sugar Rush decided it would be better if Vanellope had a guard with her at all times, even while racing. Vanellope argued this at first and often would try to escape out of the castle before any guards could follow her to the race track. But after a few difficult meetings the rule was passed and Vanellope was always to be escorted by an Oreo guard or another passenger from the castle.

She was determined today she would not have a guard with her while she raced. Vanellope burst through the castle entrance and thundered down the stairs down to where her kart was always waiting for her. Vanellope could hear the guards yelling at her to slow down as she climbed into the kart, clicked it on, and sped away. Looking back she giggled as the guards ran to catch up but failed in the process.

"I'm glad I know everything about you Vanellope!" Marshmallow said, nearly scaring Vanellope out of her wits, and sitting down in the seat next to her. Vanellope gave him a glare but the Marshmallow smiled at her brightly, he had been hiding in the seat behind her for at least an hour knowing the girl was going to attempt to run away from the castle force.

"I kinda liked it better before you knew how to talk." Vanellope said but laughed at the little treat, he was actually really cunning nowadays. Marshmallow folded his arms and looked ahead of them, "I kinda like it better when you follow the rules!" he said back. He was teasing but Vanellope could tell he was serious under his joking ways. He seemed to take after sour bill a lot more since becoming a guard, spending time with the castle assistant caused Marshmallow to know almost every single rule that needed to be followed. Vanellope sometimes missed the silly little treat she used to know, but was happy Marshmallow was doing something he loved.

"Good we made it just in time!" Vanellope yelled over the engine as she sped up to catch the race in time. "Ahh, Vanellope you're going to fast!" Marshmallow yelped, anything over 25 mph was too fast for the little creature. Vanellope smiled and rubbed his head, "Come on Marsh, you're my number one guard…you're gonna have to learn to take things a little faster."

Vanellope got right into line just as the race began, the copies cheering them on from the sideline along with several other candy citizens that had arrived. Vanellope waved at them and they cheered, Marshmallow urged her to grab onto the wheel with both hands and pay attention to the road.

The race was fast, typical and at the very end of it Taffyta came out in first followed by Vanellope. The next few races were a mix of good and bad, difficult and easy. Sometimes the kids playing would do nothing but crash the racers into one another, occasionally they would get a racer so bad they struggled to let him win. But some of the races were so good that it immediately raised the stats and scores of the game up, which helped get more unlocked features for the game.

On the last race Vanellope was chosen. "Finally!" Vanellope cheered and moved to the front, next to Taffyta who smiled at her as she did. "I feel like I haven't seen you all day!" Vanellope called and Taffyta nodded, seeming rather quiet. Vanellope wanted to comment on the very fact but Marshmallow poked her in the shoulder, "The race is starting in a second, get ready!" he said smiling at her. After surviving the last few races Marshmallow seemed a bit chiller now that they were at their possible last race.

The whole group shot off in their karts and Vanellope was in the lead, making great time as well. Things were going smoothly and she was in great spirits alongside Marshmallow, but then she got a terrible feeling. Vanellope felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she felt her stomach doing flip flops, she couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching her.

Looking around at the race track she searched for whatever was making her feel terrible but couldn't find anything out of the normal. In fact she was so far ahead that the only other person there with her was Marshmallow, yet he was busy watching the scenery. Vanellope shrugged her shoulders and looked ahead at the track only to be frozen with fear at the scene before her.

Up ahead was Nelly, completely solid unburned Nelly, and glaring at her with every little scowl she could muster. Vanellope slammed on her breaks and Marshmallow held on tight unsure of what was going on. "Vanellope what is it?" He yelled and looked around as the girl remained motionless, "Why did you stop, you have to keep going!".

Vanellope continued to stare ahead of her, although the mysterious being had disappeared and was no longer in front of her, she was afraid to move. The other racers caught up with the girl and zoomed past her, all looking back at the possessed Princess as she continued to sit in her kart. Even Taffyta nearly stopped her kart as she saw Vanellope there, but knew if she did there would be several questions of a problem with the game. Taffyta had no choice but to continue or face the possibilities of getting unplugged again.

"Vanellope!" Marshmallow yelled and tugged at the girls arm, feeling absolutely frightened of the girls behavior now. Vanellope snapped back to reality and hit the gas, trying to catch up with the others. Whatever that being was it had scared Vanellope down to her very core and frozen her so she couldn't move. It looked like Nelly but then again it also looked like someone else, someone who had been a threat to her long ago.

Vanellope crossed the line a solid three minutes after everyone else, the child playing the last game had abandoned it long ago and was obviously tired of whatever was wrong with the game. Marshmallow was out of the kart first and rushed to the other side to help Vanellope. The girl could spot Taffyta trying to get to her first, but as she did several of the other racers beat her to it.

"Are you alright?" Snowana asked and put a hand on Vanellope, who still seemed shaken. Gloyd was seen talking to his copy, whatever he had to say obviously wasn't kind and Red snickered about it. "I thought you were dead…" Ran said and squeezed Vanellope into a hug, the two had remained good friends since the adventures with evil Nelly and he often liked to comfort her when she seemed down. Vanellope smiled at the group and nodded, "I'm fine, just.." she trailed off and looked at the ground, "Just got burnt out there at the end…" she finished and the group seemed to accept that answer.

Marshmallow grabbed the girls hand and started to lead her away from the crowd, "Come, we need to discuss at the castle!" Marshmallow commanded and surprisingly Vanellope didn't argue and was led away. Taffyta watched as she did, sighing, and figured she'd have to meet up with the girl later. No sooner had the Princess and her small guard walked away, the racers all turned to one another and started in on their discussions and rumors.

"I saw her engine died.." Jubileena said to some of them and pointed to the kart, "She had to glitch the whole way back!". That story seemed ridiculous to some of them, mostly to Taffyta. "Well I bet she just busted a tire and was too embarrassed to tell us!" Rancis said and laughed, his copy seemed annoyed with his rudeness. "Maybe we should do something to make her feel better.." Ran said as the group moved away then, continuing their talks as they did while Taffyta stayed behind to observe Vanellope's kart.

It didn't look broken and even if it was the game would have automatically repaired it, a feature that helped them out numerous times when regenerating. She was unsure how Vanellope would let a race, especially one where she was supposed to win, get behind her like that. Taffyta sighed looking at the kart and then up to Vanellope who was talking to Marsh several feet ahead of her. 'What is going on with her..'?

* * *

Vanellope sat down at the top of the staircase leading up to the castle entrance. A few hours ago she had seen a ghostly figure that looked similar to Nelly, the old evil Princess, and lost a race because of it. Not only did she lose a race but she also lost when a player had chosen her. This wouldn't affect Sugar Rush, but if it happened again it easily could.

Marshmallow had discussed with her the whole way back the dangers of reckless racing and why she should be sitting out more races. Vanellope nodded, not agreeing with him, but recognizing the problems he was stressing about. Although she knew them and knew she wasn't in trouble for them, she still felt guilty. The Marshmallow had left her to be alone now and attended more matters elsewhere while she sat there in the night.

"Are you going to pout all night?" Taffyta asked as she approached Vanellope. The teal Princess jumped as she seemed to come out of nowhere but then smiled at her. "Ha, probably.." she replied weakly and Taffyta smiled at her as she sat down next to the girl. The two of them were silent for a while before Taffyta sighed loudly and leaned back on the stairs, "So what exactly happened…you just kinda..?" she asked and trailed off, hoping Vanellope would finish for her.

Vanellope looked down at her hands and played with them, "I guess I just froze…it was strange.." Vanellope said, leaving out the part where she saw Nelly. "I won't let it happen again though." She said positively and smiled at Taffyta who seemed a mix of worried and happy. "What are the other racers saying about it?" Vanellope asked and Taffyta waved her hand at her. Meaning she didn't want Vanellope to worry about it. Often times the racers were kind to Vanellope but rude behind her back, Taffyta didn't like to be a tattletale but she wouldn't stand around and let them be rude to her friend.

"I wouldn't worry about it, as usual Gloyd and Red are being snarky." She said and Vanellope nodded, she knew those two were mean to everyone. They continued to sit until the sky turned dark and the lights of the castle seemed to blaze and light the kingdom. Vanellope often loved the night more than the day around Sugar Rush castle, especially how the castle glowed and offered them a sort of guidance.

"Oh that reminds me…were you okay today?" Vanellope asked, remembering the girl's behavior on the track just before the last race. Taffyta gave her a questioning look so Vanellope explained further, "You looked a little off before the last race.". Taffyta smiled and stood up, looking as if she was going to leave, and said "Are you sure that wasn't you?". Vanellope stood up as well and gave her a serious look, "I mean it…were you okay?" she asked again and Taffyta's smile faded as she realized she might have been given away.

Taffyta wanted to ask Vanellope about the topic of 'them', she wanted to ask if they were honestly dating or if they were still friends. But after today's moment with the last race and Vanellope possibly needing to sit out tomorrow's race, she wasn't sure if she should bring it up. "I.." Taffyta started to say before a loud noise came from down below at the bottom of the castle steps. Both the girls looked down to see the other racers and copies coming up, all presenting Vanellope a giant cake that was decorated with various colors that said, 'Feel better soon!'.

"We made you a cake, to help you feel better!" Ran said as he rushed up to Vanellope and took her hand, leading her down to the others. Vanellope began to protest but the other racers along with their copies started to cheer for her. "We know you can do it tomorrow, Vanellope, today's races were hard…!" someone said from the crowd. "Yeah and so what if you lost, your still just as awesome!" another one cheered and she swore it was Minty.

When Vanellope looked back to catch Taffyta, the girl was already gone. She had either escaped back into the castle or somehow walked by the crowd. Vanellope sighed, feeling sad, but smiled for the other racers as they cheered her on and tried to make the girl feel better about the craziness of that day.


	4. A situation or two

Marshmallow tapped quietly at the large chocolate door before him and waited patiently for the candy on the other side to open it. It was another early morning and soon he would have to wake Vanellope for the day, but before he did he needed to talk to Sour Bill. A moment or so later and the door creaked open to show Sour Bill standing there, glasses on and book in his hands. "Yes?" he asked and raised his eyes at the little Marshmallow, who seemed a little more than shaken. "It's about Vanellope…" Marshmallow said simply and Sour Bill opened the door more for him to come in.

Inside the room was a large library that was filled in every available space with books, book shelves or desks along with chairs to read books on. Sour Bill had been working in this massive library for weeks now and had appointed Marshmallow as his helper to run the castle while he worked on things. Sour Bill's job was easy and usually he left things up for Vanellope to run, but doing that job and sorting the books was a task that seemed difficult for just one little candy.

"Yesterday Vanellope had an accident.." Marshmallow started off and explained the whole event to Sour Bill who was busy working on books as he did. When Marshmallow finished, Sour Bill had stopped his book sorting and stared at him wide eyed. "Why would Vanellope lose a race so easily?" Sour Bill asked and Marshmallow shrugged his shoulders, "She didn't really lose the race…she just…panicked really." He said and the two candies remained in silence for a moment.

"She's been having bad dreams as well.." Marshmallow said and Sour Bill shook his head leaving the two once again in silence. Marshmallow was almost certain he was supposed to leave before Sour Bill spoke up, "Maybe Vanellope should take a week or two off of racing, or maybe we should let her get some free time to explore Sugar Rush again like she did before?" Sour Bill stated and Marshmallow nodded. Although the two didn't want Vanellope to be in any danger as she did before, they both agreed she needed a break.

"I don't think Vanellope will be too keen on wanting a break…she nearly ran over our guards the other day going to a race!" Marshmallow laughed but silenced his giggles when he saw Sour Bills harsh look. "I know Vanellope wants to race..but she needs to remember she is a Princess before a racer!" he said sternly and Marshmallow nodded. He felt torn between his friend and his job, he knew Vanellope was going to be upset with the week or two off but the sake of the land was at stake if she would fail a race like that again.

"Can we at least give her one more try, maybe she had an off day?" Marshmallow offered and Sour bill seemed to take the thought into consideration. After a long sigh the candy nodded and Marshmallow beamed and excused himself from the room. "One more chance, then Vanellope will need to take a break…" Marshmallow said quietly to himself and walked down the hallway proudly.

* * *

"Vanellope has been resting all morning, can I please see her"? Taffyta asked, growing more frustrated by the minute as the Oreo guards refused to let the girl into the castle. They had done this before, a few times when they needed Vanellope for important duties of the castle. It was early morning and the game had been untouched that day, which happened occasionally. Taffyta decided to try and spend time with Vanellope but was immediately met with the Oreo guards.

"I'm sorry…to tell you the truth …we would let you in but we've been given strict orders to not let anyone in." one of the guards said and Taffyta stamped her foot. "Not even me?" she asked and threw her hands up in the air, "But I'm.." she stopped herself midsentence realizing she was about to say ' Vanellope's girlfriend'. The guards looked at her curiously, "You're what?" the other one asked and Taffyta shook her head. "Never mind!" she yelled and stamped off, down the stairs, and away from the castle.

The guards whispered between each other as she did, but Taffyta ignored them and walked a path away from the nonsense. She wasn't sure where she was going but she was too angry to try and figure it out. How could they not let Taffyta see Vanellope? How could Marshmallow not allow her to even be in the castle? Were the two of them just hiding away from her?

Taffyta's mind continued to bounce back and forth as she thought, thinking of different things they might be planning or doing without her. The pink racer hardly had time to realize someone was right in front of her before she smacked right into them and fell down to the ground.

"Taffyta you really need to watch it!" Red said and stood up from the ground, dusting himself off. He looked at Taffyta who gave him a nasty look before he sighed and helped her up. "Well maybe you should stay out of my way than!" she yelled at him and stomped away. Red looked surprised by her angry attitude but followed behind her regardless. "What's eating you?" he asked and folded his arms, sporting an equally annoyed yet curious look.

Taffyta didn't speak, too annoyed to answer the boy. Why did he suddenly care what she was doing? The copy of Gloyd was just as nasty as the actual Gloyd could be. The two were often the bullies of the group, picking on the other racers and playing pranks on them. Red was even the one who betrayed Ran back when Nelly was ruling. Taffyta recalled a time he swore his allegiance to Vanellope, but how long would that last?

"Okay.." he said and smiled his evil smile he often did when he knew he was doing wrong, "I'll ask again, but after that I'll stop caring.." he laughed and looked at Taffyta, who looked incredibly annoyed by this point. "Why are you so bummed?" he asked.

Taffyta stopped dead in her tracks and pointed a finger at him "Listen here Red…if you're doing this as some sort of joke I will hit you so hard your head will fall off, got it?" Taffyta yelled and Red raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded. Taffyta folded her arms and mimicked his face "Good." She said and explained to him her troubles.

* * *

"Can we be done now please?" Vanellope asked for what seemed like the billionth time. The Oreo guards moaned in agreement before Marshmallow waved his arms around in the air, "Guys we have to practice these drills!" he wailed and Vanellope scratched the back of her head, she looked as if she wanted to argue the very topic.

All morning Vanellope, the guards, and Marshmallow all wandered the castle doing things from performing emergency drills in case the castle were to come under attack to simple signings and passings of laws that needed to be in effect for Sugar Rush. Vanellope's entire body was sore from writing, walking, and visiting with the local candy citizens. She had hoped the day would be interrupted with a race, but after her third royal activity of the day the poor Princess had given up hope.

"Marshmallow, I've had enough..I haven't seen Taffyta all day..or my friends, I'm going out!" Vanellope demanded and threw off her crown. A nearby guard caught it and the other guards cheered both for Vanellope demanding a break and for the guard who caught the crown while Marshmallow chased after her. "B-but Vanellope!" he stammered as he tried to catch up. Vanellope stopped and turned to him, "Look why don't you take the rest of the day off?" she asked and blew him a kiss as she left through the front entrance. As she rushed down the steps she heard a mix of "Vanellope!" and "Please come back, Princess!" but she ignored it and quickly set out to find the other racers.

It didn't take the girl long before she found Snowana, Ran and Crumbelina all hanging out together near the Sugar Rush Speedway. Walking up to them Ran was the first to wave at Vanellope, "Vanellope, hey!" he called as she approached and the others joined him in greeting the girl.

"I'm really glad to see you feeling better!" Snowana said and Vanellope beamed at the girl, Snowana was always the kind one of the group. In a way she acted motherly towards the racers and always made sure they were feeling well. "I think I was just a little overworked.." Vanellope laughed and Ran shook his head, "They need to let you out more often, staying inside those walls too long can do something to yah.." Ran said and Vanellope noted that he had really been affected by the fungeon. She gave him a sympathetic look when the group remained silent for a moment.

The four talked a little while, catching the Princess up on things in the land of Sugar rush that had happened that day before Vanellope asked if they had seen Taffyta. Ran scratched his head and looked at the other two for help, which they both looked just as clueless. "I think the last I heard, she was looking for you…but I haven't seen her!" Crumbelina stated and smiled at Vanellope. Vanellope nodded, saying her goodbyes, and went to search for Taffyta.

Taffyta wasn't by the Sugar Rush Speedway or by the peppermint forest, she wasn't near the castle nor was she in the garden behind it. Vanellope searched and searched for the girl, not finding any luck. The last place she hadn't looked was Diet Cola Mountain and Vanellope refused to go there. Giving up she walked through the garden to watch the flowers and enjoy being alone for a moment.

Vanellope enjoyed the garden the most out of Sugar Rush, in the old one it hadn't even existed and she was honestly thankful for the update after getting to fully enjoy them every once and awhile. Vanellope was sitting down in the garden and just about to observe some lollipop plants when she heard someone whispering. Turning around she looked about the garden to find herself alone. Vanellope was just about to drop it when she heard the voice again, this time she could make out the words.

"Vanellope…" it said and Vanellope took extra care into looking in every single direction. No one was with her in the garden yet she could clearly hear someone whispering her name, Vanellope started to feel her heart pick up in speed. "Hello?" she called out and waited for a response, still nothing.

"Show yourselves…who are you?" Vanellope called out and waited again for the voice to return, when once again nothing happened Vanellope tried to relax but she couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching her.

Eventually Vanellope walked towards the castle, deciding to be inside with the guards instead of out there with the noises. But once again she was stopped with the voice and it calling her name. Vanellope quickly turned around and found Nelly standing there as she did before on the track, unburned and unharmed.

"Vanellope.." Nelly said and pointed at the girl. Vanellope stood there in fear, unsure what to do, and allowed this ghostly scene to play out. "I challenge you to a race Miss Vanellope Von Schweetz.." Nelly said and smiled evily at her, "Don't let your guard down, it will be very soon." Vanellope clenched her fists, she was a mix of angry and frightened all at the same time. She couldn't race Nelly, Nelly had been deleted, it wasn't possible?

"Princess Vanellope?" a guard approached Vanellope from behind, startling her in her thoughts. "I'm sorry but we noticed you look a little pale…is everything alright?" the kind Oreo guard asked and Vanellope looked up at him then back at Nelly. The girl had disappeared again and all that was left was the beautiful garden. Before Vanellope could even reply the alarm went off and the land of Sugar Rush prepared for another race.

* * *

As the alarm sounded and all the racers and copies arrived on the race track to start off, Vanellope again arrived last and got in line with the others. The crowd cheered as she pulled up and Vanellope as usual waved at them smiling until her eyes landed on Taffyta who was using that 'fake smile' of hers and waving weakly at the girl. 'Have I upset her again?' Vanellope thought as the timer hit zero and the racers started the race.

Vanellope watched as Rainbeau moved ahead of the rest of the players, she was obviously chosen by the gamer and looked genuinely happy to be in first. The racers all zoomed ahead of her, leaving her behind. Ran smiled back at her as he hit the gas, "C'mon Vanellope!" he said and waved for her driving ahead. Vanellope smiled and hit the gas to catch up with the group. "VANELLOPE!" a voice rang out and Vanellope looked behind her only to have a kart slam into her. Vanellope grabbed onto the wheel and nearly spun out of control as the kart continued to bang into her.

Vanellope quickly sped up and moved to the right of the track just as the kart was about to slam into her again, missing. As it did Vanellope saw the kart was a very familiar red and white, the driver however she wasn't sure since she couldn't see them. The foe didn't give Vanellope much time to think before they slammed into her kart again and pushed her towards the edge of the Speedway.

"Alright…it's time to get serious.." Vanellope said and gripped the wheel, she had about enough for the day. Focusing hard, Vanellope allowed her glitch to flow through her body and the kart. In record time the girl shot ahead, glitching all the way. The red and white kart sped up but couldn't keep up with Vanellope's glitching and soon was out of her sight. Vanellope relaxed and soon was caught up with the other racers and finishing the race, in third place.

At the finish line Marshmallow was waiting for Vanellope along with the other cheering population. Vanellope hopped out of her kart and went to survey the side of the vehicle and found the kart had been pretty dinged up. Marshmallow looked at the damage as well and then at Vanellope, "What happened…?" he tried to ask but Vanellope held up a finger to her lips and whispered, "Later..".

The rest of the racers zoomed into the finish line and like the night before it was filled with congrats and joy as they celebrated their races for the day. Vanellope watched from the sidelines, glad they weren't crowding her for once. She saw as Taffyta walked past Red and he stopped her, saying something to her that made her pause for a moment then shake her head no. Red had the same glare that he normally did on through the whole discussion and walked away as Taffyta approached Vanellope. Vanellope wasn't sure how to take Red and Taffyta's small discussion.

"It's been awhile?" Taffyta said, seeming shy for some reason and Vanellope nodded. They both started to talk, but stopped when they saw the other wanting to talk first. Finally Vanellope led the conversation, "I'm sorry..I've just been really busy lately and…" she looked at Marshmallow, "Preoccupied with silly duties" she laughed and Marshmallow folded his arms and huffed, "Important duties, my Princess!"

The two laughed seeming to get that the other was joking, but Taffyta remained silent. She felt awkward and out of the loop, the two had been together nearly every single day and working hard on things she didn't even know about. Before she was able to know about everything, now it was as if she wasn't allowed to know anything.

Vanellope noticed Taffyta's hurt look and coughed to clear her throat, "Actually, I need to tell both of you something..that's been happening lately.." Vanellope said and Marshmallow looked up to her curiously then back at her kart while Taffyta folded her arms. "I can't tell you here..I don't wanna alarm anyone, but we should talk soon." Vanellope said and Taffyta huffed loudly. "It's always soon, never now." Taffyta said under her breath. Vanellope heard some of what Taffyta said and gave her a questioning look, "Nothing" Taffyta said and turned to leave back into the crowd. Vanellope went to go after her but Marshmallow stopped her. "I'm unsure why she's mad…but you should give her space." He said.

Why was Taffyta so angry with her lately? Yes she had been more than busy but she never worried that Taffyta would ever be the type to be upset with her over it. It was true that Vanellope had been acting off and weird lately as well, and the visions or happenings of Nelly weren't helping either. Although Vanellope's head was screaming at her to chase after the girl, she allowed her to have her space that Marshmallow felt she needed.


	5. Mysterious boy

"Vanellope…please.." a voice cried out and shook Vanellope awake from her dream. She was sweating buckets full and her body shaked from the nightmare that had just attacked her. This dream involved Nelly, Taffyta and Taffyta's copy again, the same scene as the one before only instead of Vanellope burning and being deleted she was simply thrown from Diet Cola Mountain to the hard ground below.

The nightmares were becoming worse every night and Vanellope felt herself completely become drained from the lack of sleep she was getting. She wasn't sure how to stop the nightmares but she knew she needed to let Taffyta know about the nightmares and the events following the track, if anything she could just ease her mind about the whole events.

Last night when Vanellope had returned home, back at the castle, with Marshmallow; she had explained how she was attacked on the track by a random driver in the red and white kart. She also explained how she had been seeing Nelly as well. Marshmallow seemed worried about the accusation and bumped up security around the castle.

The notion did help Vanellope feel slightly better but at the same time it didn't. Nelly had powers to transport people and most possibly anything else, she was cunning and evil in every way. If the girl wanted Vanellope away from the castle and in her clutches, Vanellope saw no reason why she couldn't.

Vanellope shivered and got out of bed, not wanting to think about the matter anymore. The sun was up and Vanellope needed to find Taffyta to warn her about the girl they had feared not many months ago. Plus she needed to patch things up with the girl as well and figure out why she had been so odd to her lately.

* * *

"So are you two dating or..what?" Candlehead asked as Taffyta and her approached Ran and Snowana. The two were sitting awfully close and watching the other racers practice the track. Ran blushed a deep red and Snowana laughed, "Oh please..mind your own business!". Taffyta wanted to add to that, to say that Candlehead should really mind her own business, but she didn't and merely smiled at the two.

Ran and Snowana had been hanging out a lot together, the two were adorable in her opinion and even if they weren't dating it was still nice to see copies and racers getting along. The copies weren't always so thrilled with the racers existence and the same for the racers. The two different groups seemed to always be on edge with the other or at least competitive. Taffyta didn't start seeing some friendships between the two different kind of gamers till recent, starting with Ran and Snowana.

Candlehead scoffed and leaned against her kart, waiting for her turn. Taffyta was next to her and also waiting her turn when out of the blue someone called her name. "Taffyta!" the voice called and the pink racer looked behind her, along with Ran and the others, to see Red standing next to his kart a few feet back and waving to her. "Oh-la-la looks like someone likes both teams." Candlehead laughed and Taffyta shot her a dirty look. Ran also gave the girl a mean look, knowing full well that Taffyta was with Vanellope and that Candlehead's behavior was very inappropriate.

Taffyta sighed and walked over to the boy who was still sporting his usual look, a glare. "You ran off by yourself again last night." Red said and Taffyta shot him a questioning look. Red shrugged his shoulders and pointed behind him towards the castle, "Your girlfriend too busy again?" he asked and received a punch in the shoulders.

"I told you that cause I thought you were being helpful, not because you could use it against me you jerk!" Taffyta yelled and Red rubbed his sore arm, looking annoyed. "And you're kind of being creepy the way you keep watching me." She added, walking next to him and leaning against his kart. The boy watched her as she did, deciding if he was okay with her doing so. He sighed and you could tell he wasn't going to address it. "I only noticed cause I like to watch people, you're just so dramatic its very entertaining watching you." He admitted and laughed.

Taffyta wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or as a negative thing but she remained quiet as he talked and watched the other racers. A day ago Red had found Taffyta on the verge of tears and for some reason the two had hit it off immediately and were now talking like crazy every chance they got. It seemed that no matter where she went the boy was always bumping into her. Regardless the two had formed an odd friendship that Taffyta was trying not to show to everyone that she enjoyed.

The two waited as the other racers finished their turns and got off the track. Ran, Snowana and Candlehead got in their karts and drove on the race track to prepare for the race. Taffyta moved away from Red's kart to get in her own but felt someone grab her hand just before she could take another step. When she looked behind she saw Red holding on tightly to her hand, his glare gone, but still having a serious look on his face.

Taffyta felt her heart pick up and she knew she must have been blushing or at least close to it. "Taffyta I…" the boy started to say but was interrupted with a crashing noise. Both Taffyta and Red looked over to see Ran had accidently hit the gas a little too hard and bumped into Candlehead's kart. "You idiot!" she yelled and surveyed her kart, the mark was hardly noticeable but Candlehead was beyond upset either way. Ran looked as if he was about to cry and Snowana eagerly defended him as Candlehead yelled.

Taffyta took this opportunity to let go of Red's hand and rush over to the arguing group. She wasn't sure why that moment had happened or what it was exactly but she felt her heart race and her mind feel terribly guilty and all she could think about was Vanellope. Red, although disappointed, still came over to see the incident and defend Ran from the exploding Candlehead.

"I can't believe you ruined my kart!" she yelled and clutched her kart desperately. Snowana rolled her eyes and grabbed for Ran's hand who looked terrible by now, "Please, he didn't do anything…stop being such a baby!" Snowana yelled back and Candlehead gasped as if that was one of the worse things Snowana could have called her. "Plus it will regenerate.." Taffyta added, looking the kart over again, the mark was indeed tiny and Taffyta wondered why she was making such a fuss.

Eventually Candlehead calmed down enough to move her kart off the track and wait for it to regenerate. Snowana decided that both her and Ran would drive together, especially since Ran looked incapable to drive thanks to Candlehead's freakout. "You two should drive together!" Snowana suggested pointing to Red and Taffyta. "I think that'd be fun." Red said and Snowana clapped her hands together happily, both Ran and Taffyta were the only ones iffy about the situation. Taffyta stuttered, unsure how to get out of the situation, and tried to explain. The three stood there for a moment, waiting for her to finish her explanation but found she was failing terribly at it. "Oh c'mon it's just a race…please?" Snowana laughed and urged the two on. Eventually Taffyta agreed and climbed into Red's kart but refused to lay a hand on him as they started the race.

* * *

Vanellope had the fight of her life trying to get out of the castle. Marshmallow was not kidding when he said he was going to up security and it seemed like within the night the little treat had made an army out of only a few Oreo guards. Vanellope tiptoed, slid, and hid her away out of the castle only stopping when she had believed she had been caught.

The poor girl knew she shouldn't behave like this and she knew when she turned up missing from the castle that a lot of guards were going to be out looking for her, but she needed one on one time with Taffyta. With the guards there, it just wasn't possible.

Vanellope asked around to every single character of Sugar Rush, including the candy citizens who all knew nothing about Taffyta's whereabouts. It seemed the girl had literally gone missing from Sugar Rush until she found a large group of racers on the track. Crumbelina, Minty, Gloyd, and a very annoyed looking Candlehead all sat next to their karts waiting for their turn with the track. As Vanellope approached them they all smiled and waved at her, except Candlehead who offered a weak "hey."

"Hey Princess, they're on their last lap than it's our turns again." Gloyd said and fixed his hair as Crumbelina nodded. Vanellope eyed the track, trying to see if Taffyta was out there, and looked back at the sitting bunch. "Is Taffyta here guys?" she asked and they all nodded except for Candlehead. But when Vanellope looked out on the track she didn't see Taffyta's kart anywhere, her kart was typically easy to spot since it was such a hot pink.

Candlehead stood up and gave Vanellope a knowing look, she seemed to be in a dramatic mood. "Oh you didn't know?" she asked and Vanellope shook her head no, of course she didn't know what was going on when she had been in the castle all morning. Candlehead pointed to the track at the racers, "Red decided to take Taffyta for a ride, their riding together against Snowana and Ran." She giggled and Vanellope nodded trying not to look jealous but finding it very difficult.

Riding together was Taffyta and her thing, now she was doing it with everyone? Vanellope wasn't even sure if she could manage to wait for them without having the urge to scream. For the first time in a while Vanellope's glitch starting going off and shooting her in random directions. Crumbelina looked back at the girl and held a hand over her mouth, "You okay Princess…?" she asked looking genuinely concerned. Vanellope shook her head yes and excused herself from the group, not wanting to face Taffyta in this condition.

As she wandered away Vanellope found herself all the way past the castle and to the bridge that leads out of Sugar Rush. She breathed in deeply and controlled her glitching as she walked through the entrance. If she couldn't talk to Taffyta about Nelly and the bad dreams, she knew there was someone who could.


	6. Sticky

"I don't know kid, I think this Nelly girls just got a good way of getting into your head." Ralph said as he sat down next to Vanellope on the large pile of bricks that Ralph called home. The two had been talking for a little while; Vanellope came by to visit his game and to talk to him about the crazy events that had been happening in her own.

She had just finished her story when Ralph gave his two cents on the matter, just as Marshmallow, he felt she shouldn't be too worried because it could all be in her mind. "She never sounded like a good bad guy, she just sounded like a bad bad guy and maybe you're just overworrying?" he asked as he rearranged some bricks from underneath him.

"But how could I imagine the crash.." Vanellope asked and looked up at her giant friend who seemed to be processing the matter. Ralph and her hadn't had a day to talk in literally months another old friend she had been neglecting due to Princess matters. But unlike her other friends in Sugar Rush, Ralph and her relationship seemed to pick up right where it left off.

"I don't know kid, the mind is a very powerful thing…" he said and patted her on the head. Vanellope knew she wasn't going to get much else out of him except that and accepted it from him. She knew going to Ralph was not going to get her what she wanted but what she needed to hear, so it was no surprise to her when he told her she probably just needs to chill.

Standing up she hugged Ralph tightly and smiled at him, "Thanks buddy…"she started off and Ralph returned the hug. "I think sometimes being a Princess can have its downfalls…I just needed to have someone hear my crazy stories I guess." She laughed and Ralph gave her a look, "Hey they're not crazy, I believe ya"! he said and leaned back on the bricks, "I just want you to be careful…think carefully.." he said and Vanellope laughed, leaning back with him.

The day turned into the afternoon and Ralph's game was started by a child in the arcade, Vanellope waved him goodbye figuring it was time to get back to her own game anyways and traveled to the arcade lobby. There were lots of game characters wandering about, some had lost their games and others were just not being played at the moment. Although the area was jam packed with several people, animals and other sorts of faces Vanellope paused as she noticed a familiar face from across the room, staring at her.

The girl had dark red eyes and a pale face, in a way she looked like a zombie but she didn't walk or move like one. She had a lightish blue bow atop her head, followed by a blue coat and pants, black shoes and the decorations she had on every piece of her outfit was lined with a cream pink as well as white. Vanellope continue to stare at the girl till she realized who she was, "Sticky!" she called out and the girl turned to run away.

Vanellope immediately pursued her, weaving through the crowd as best she could. The girl was almost inhumanely fast and Vanellope almost lost sight of her several times. The arcade didn't seem to notice Sticky at all nor Vanellope, all too busy doing their own thing and worrying about their own games.

Vanellope chased Sticky all the way down to the other end of the lobby where she stopped right before she hit the wall and turned to Vanellope. The teal girl almost collided right into the zombie Sticky as she wasn't expecting her to just stop running, Vanellope caught her breath and looked at the girl who seemed to not be tired at all. "Sticky how are you here, where are the others?" Vanellope asked her and the girl remained silent. Vanellope put her hands in her hoodie pockets and stared hard at the girl, 'Am I seeing things again?' she wandered and took a step back, unsure if she literally was becoming crazy or if someone was honestly messing with her.

"Vanellope!" Marshmallow yelled from down the hall, Vanellope turned to see the little treat making a mad dash towards her, it was then she realized that she was the only one on this side of the lobby and all the other characters had stopped a few games down. As she looked at some of the entrances near her she realized they had all been unplugged and this side of the arcade lobby was darkened.

"Vanellope where have you been?" Marshmallow weazed out, he didn't sound angry but he was very much concerned. Vanellope went to open her mouth but remembered Sticky and turned to face the girl. Sticky wasn't there and not a single trace was left of her, Vanellope shook and clenched her fists. "I'm sorry I was just taking a walk…" Vanellope said as she turned back to Marshmallow, telling him about seeing Sticky was only going to result in her getting a 'crazy' talk and enforcing more guards at the castle until she had more proof.

Marshmallow looked at the wall behind her and then back at Vanellope, he looked like he wanted to ask if there was more to the story but let it go. "Okay, um…" he said and trailed off, "You missed a race..we need you back at Sugar Rush immediately!" Marshmallow said and Vanellope nodded and followed him back to their game. She mentally kicked herself for allowing things to get out of hand that day and wished she had just gone back to her game. Vanellope knew Sticky had to of been there in that lobby, how couldn't she?

* * *

Sticky watched as Vanellope and Marshmallow walked away and reappeared again there in the lobby. Sticky had a power where she could disappear and reappear whenever she willed, this power also belonged to Minty and Torvald as well but unfortunately Minty didn't know about this. Unlike Minty, Torvald and Sticky had been deleted and with the rebirth they were shown how to control their powers they never believed they even had. She had everything to thank both him and Nelly for showing her all the things she could do now.

Turning towards the wall, Sticky pushed her hand against it and moved it around the wall. The secret entrance was like Sticky's power, hidden, and when Sticky's hand finally passed through she smiled and walked completely in. There was a long dark hallway which was usually where normal games were transported by carts or train, but because this game in particular needed to be hidden they were asked to walk the path back to the game.

The hallway grew darker and darker and Sticky almost became frightened as she walked. But eventually a small light peaked from the other side and she ran to the nearing exit. On the other side there was Nougestia, Torvald, Citrusella, and Adorabeezle were all four waiting for her along with Nelly the Princess.

The game they were in was the same as usual, a long winding track with mediocre decorations. The sky was always the same color of blue and pixelated white clouds. The girls had been leaning against the white and red kart but walked towards Sticky as she arrived back.

"Were you able to recruit anyone?" Torvald asked and Sticky shook her head no. The mission was simple, go to Sugar Rush and convert some of the racers to their side or at least bring them back to the base so Nelly could convince them. Nelly huffed loudly, waiting for Sticky to explain. Sticky remained quiet at first, not wanting to talk, but when Nelly gave her a cold stare the girl had to say something. Anything would have been fine.

"I got into the lobby and then Vanellope spotted me, she was heading back to her game.." Sticky said and Nelly clenched her fists, obviously angry. "So you completely aborted your mission?" Nelly asked, taking a step forward towards Sticky. The shaking blue girl nodded and looked at the ground, not able to handle seeing the disappointment and rage in Nelly's eyes.

Nelly sighed and looked away from the girl, not sure how to punish her, and said "Vanellope has become too aware of the situation...we can't allow her to see us anymore..". The other girls nodded in agreement as Nelly continued, "I've warned her about our upcoming race and I've had my fun with messing with the girl…now I need you to be a little more careful…understand me?" Nelly asked and Sticky nodded her head so hard it looked like it could've fallen off.

"Good.." Nelly said and smiled evily. Prior to this day Nelly was trying to get Vanellope to race against her or at least frighten her as much as possible, but after talking to him and realizing they might be found the evil Princess had to back off and go in with the plan they had originally set.

The plan to take over Sugar rush, one racer at a time. Nelly turned away from the girls and walked towards the red and white kart. "In all due time we will have our revenge on the land of Sugar rush..but until then…Sticky." She said and Sticky perked her head up, waiting for an order. "You can do a few..oh hundred laps, for punishment of your failure today." Sticky gulped, she didn't like the red and white kart and she certainly hated driving this phantom lap but she obeyed her command and got into the seat, clicked on the engine and drove off.

Nelly turned to the other girls and smiled, "Alright, I need to send one of you next…which will it be?"


	7. Making up, Falling out

"You know Taffyta stopped by the castle looking for you?" Marshmallow said as they walked down the rainbow bridge towards Sugar Rush, it was about late afternoon and hearing no signs of the alarm or racers running to the starting line, the two decided to take their time on the way back to their home.

"Oh?" Vanellope asked though she frankly didn't care at all. Taffyta had acted angry with her for days and decided to suddenly become interested in Red. The last thing she wanted to do was see the girl, especially since this day has been so off as is. Marshmallow seemed to notice Vanellope's mood and poked her as they walked, "Are you two fighting again?" he asked and Vanellope sighed not wanting to explain.

But when the Marshmallow pushed further the girl gave in and explained to him the situation she had seen earlier that day. "Didn't she get frustrated with you for making close friends with that Rancis copy?" Marshmallow asked and Vanellope rolled her eyes but nodded. "But Ran likes Snowana, everyone knows that!" Vanellope said and threw her hands up in the air, "It's like I'm busy for one day and she runs off and gets a super cool boyfriend."

Marshmallow laughed at that and Vanellope had to try and hold in a laugh as well, noting her foolishness. "But doesn't everyone here know Taffyta likes you..?" Marshmallow commented and Vanellope nodded although she really didn't want to. "Plus if memory serves me right, Ran liked you plenty back when the upgrade was happening and before he met Snowana…so you should give Taffyta some slack, I'm sure she's still into you Vanellope." Marshmallow stated proving his point.

Vanellope did feel foolish then and she sighed heavily realizing the candy was right, although she didn't want to admit it. The two finished their walk in silence and soon enough reached the castle, Vanellope gasped as she saw all the guards wandering around and panicking as if they had lost something more valuable than gold. When they spotted her they immediately relaxed and cheered for Marshmallow. Vanellope looked at Marshmallow, unsure what had just happened. "Like I said, everyone was looking for you!" he laughed and Vanellope smiled, feeling grateful.

"Vanellope!" Ran called and made his way through the guards to embrace the girl, behind him Snowana was quickly rushing in for a hug. Vanellope received the hugs with a laugh and hugged them both back. "Vanellope we were so worried about you, everyone was buzzing that you had been deleted or something!" Ran said dramatically. Snowana gave him a look and slung her arm around Vanellope, "Girl, I'm glad to see you are safe.." she said which made Vanellope smile.

The castle finally calmed down and Vanellope was allowed to go with her friends, Snowana and Ran, to just walk and explore. The three decided to go by the banana boat near the Soda Pop sea, a destination Vanellope hadn't taken in a long time back when Nelly had run things. The group didn't actually go on the giant boat but they did walk around the dock and look at the fizzy soda.

The three sat down on the dock and talked about the day, Vanellope discussed about visiting Ralph and enjoying the day to do whatever else she wanted but she didn't bring up the Sticky incident. Bringing it up to her friends would only alarm them, so she listened to their days instead. Snowana and Ran honestly spent every waking moment together; it was precious to see the two getting along so well and Vanellope felt proud to see both a copy and a racer come together as these two did.

"Hey!" Snowana said suddenly and waved at someone behind Vanellope and Ran, the two looked behind them to see Taffyta making her way towards them. She didn't look mad or happy, just sort of neutral as she arrived in front of them. Vanellope's heart picked up and she wanted to escape the situation, she contemplated glitching back to the castle or jumping into the sea. Anything to keep her from the conversation she was about to have with Taffyta who she wasn't sure about anymore.

"Hi guys, Ran, Snowana…Vanellope." Taffyta said smiling at them, Ran smiled back as well as Snowana but Taffyta looked away at the sea as if it had suddenly become interesting. The four remained awkwardly quiet before Taffyta spoke up, "I actually..just needed to talk to Vanellope about something, do you guys mind?". The couple honestly looked grateful to get out of the horrible situation and stood up saying their goodbyes to Vanellope. Vanellope shot Ran a look of desperation, hoping he would figure out some way of saving her. But he shrugged his shoulders at her and gave her a thumbs up. Basically meaning good luck.

Vanellope stood up and summoned her courage, the little she had, to talk to Taffyta. Hadn't it only been a few days ago that they were more than friends? Hadn't Taffyta been head over heels for her just a month ago? How could they already be this bad, why had Taffyta been acting so strange lately? All these questions she wanted to ask her, but wasn't sure how to go about them.

"Vanellope?" Taffyta asked and Vanellope snapped out of her thoughts to focus on the girl who was giving her a strange look, Vanellope must have been staring off into space or something again. "I came looking for you.." Taffyta said almost sounding annoyed, Vanellope laughed and pointed at the girl "I came looking for you as well this morning, but it seems you were too busy racing." Vanellope said back.

Taffyta gave her another strange look, "Since when is racing a bad thing?" she asked although she knew why Vanellope was upset. "It's not a bad thing, I never said it was.." Vanellope said and scratched the back of her head, unsure how to bring up the topic without fighting. "You were busy either way with Red, so I went to find Ralph."

Sighing Taffyta took a step closer to Vanellope, "I wasn't busy with Red, we were racing and I was tired of waiting at the castle for you." She said defensively. Vanellope scoffed, "You need two karts to actually race with someone, you two were riding together." Vanellope said under her breath. It was Taffyta's turn to scoff that time and point at the girl, "Like you never did that with Ran or any other racer!" she yelled and Vanellope took a step back, startled by her voice.

The two remained silent for a while, standing on the docks where only the sea and its fizzing noise could be heard. Vanellope sighed and looked at Taffyta who refused to look back at her. "I'm sorry, I've just been…a little busy and on edge lately." Vanellope said not sure what else she could say. Taffyta looked at her and nodded, "Thank you..but you really have been busy" she said and Vanellope smiled awkwardly not sure how she should be feeling about those words.

"I'm sorry as well though…and I promise you Vanellope, Red is just my friend…I care about you much differently than him." Taffyta said and took a step closer to the girl, grabbing her hand. Vanellope sighed as the girl did, it was the first time they had touched or been this close in weeks. Although she was just holding her hand it felt like she was doing so much more. "Taffyta I'm not worried about Red.." Vanellope lied, she was honestly very worried about Red but knew that by announcing this little lie she could make herself feel better and possibly look past the two's friendship. Taffyta could tell the girl was lying too but ignored it and squeezed her hand tighter.

The two stood there holding hands as Vanellope rubbed her fingers over Taffyta's for quite some time. The land of Sugar rush grew dark and above you could spot little stars twinkling, in the distance you could hear engines revving and the screeching of tires. The racers were probably still practicing from the race track and more than likely getting very competitive. But the two girls ignored this fact and stayed there together on the dock, removing the space in between them and kissing each other softly.

Vanellope felt as if sparks flew from her brain and ignited her on fire as Taffyta deepend the kiss and wrapped her arms around the girl. She hadn't been kissed by Taffyta like this since a few weeks into them being reunited with their friends, one late night in the garden. Vanellope held tightly onto Taffyta as their kissing grew more intense.

Taffyta needed to be closer to Vanellope, she had missed her so much and hadn't even been close enough to hold her hand lately. She couldn't describe countless days she wanted to knock a guard or two down and risk being held in the fungeon just so she could have a second or two of kissing Vanellope.

"Vanellope.." a voice cried into Vanellope's ear. Vanellope thought it was Taffyta's but when it happened a second and a third time Vanellope realized that the voice had an almost desperate weight to it, like the one she heard in her nightmares before. Vanellope looked behind Taffyta who seemed upset that she had stopped kissing the girl and saw someone standing in the distance watching them.

Vanellope squinted her eyes to try and make out the figure, while Taffyta kept trying to figure what was wrong with the girl. "Vanellope…" the voice rang out but for some reason only Vanellope could hear it. Taffyta watched as Vanellope stared off into space and tried to shake the girl back to their world.

Then it dawned on Vanellope who she was seeing, she gasped and took a step back horrified as she made eye contact with Taffyta's copy. "Vanellope please.." she said and Vanellope screamed taking another step back and hitting nothing but air. The girl was falling and not only doing that but falling straight into the sea. She had missed the deck and was quickly colliding with the water.

Taffyta rushed to the edge and tried to grab her but missed, almost falling into the soda herself. Vanellope hit the soda with a loud, fizzy, bang and she was completely engulfed. She could hear Taffyta, or maybe it was Taffyta's copy, screaming her name as she started to float downward.


	8. Suspicions

Taffyta rushed to the side of the deck and looked down at the fizzy water, searching for signs of Vanellope in the giant waters. At first she didn't see her and feared the worse that she had actually gone too deep for even Taffyta to reach. But then the girl saw a pair of hands emerge from the sea, followed by a head and a loud yelp. "Vanellope!" Taffyta cried and reached her hands out to grab the girl.

Unfortunately every time the girl went to reach out she nearly fell in trying to save Vanellope. The Princess was just out of hands reach and sinking quicker by the minute. Taffyta knew just simply reaching out for her and hoping to get to her in time wouldn't work, she needed a better plan. She turned to observe her surroundings, hoping for a rope or anything she could throw out to the girl but didn't spot one. Taffyta made a mad dash for the banana boat, climbing onto its side and falling in.

The boat had tons of rope and oars for the girl to use but when she went to pull them off of the boat, they were tightly tied down or locked in hinges. Taffyta yanked and yanked at the boating gear, using all her might to rip it off the banana but was unsuccessful. "Help!" Taffyta cried out and continued to pull, making her fingers scream with pain. "Help!" she yelled again and it echoed across the dock.

As if he was summoned with magic, Red suddenly appeared behind Taffyta and skillfully untied the rope that she was pulling on. They gave it one pull and the rope fell to the ground, Taffyta didn't even have a chance to process picking the rope up before Red grabbed it. He wasted no time and jumped off the boat towards the water and threw out the rope to sea. He tied the other end of the rope on the dock and jumped into the soda.

Vanellope was growing weaker by the second and felt herself going under, soda filling her mouth. She panicked remember the feeling of drowning, back when she had tried to rescue Marshmallow, and pushed with all her might to stay above the waves that were dragging her down and out into the sea. Suddenly, just before she completely went under, she felt someone grab onto her and pull her out of the soda. The arms around her were strong and lifted her head high above the waves as they pulled them back to the deck.

Looking up Vanellope first spotted Taffyta grabbing onto the rope and pulling herself and her rescuer onto the deck,then she spotted Red who collapsed next to her as they both fell onto the dock. Taffyta rushed towards Vanellope and wrapped her arms around the girl, kissing her on the cheek and crying into her. Vanellope was completely dazed and couldn't figure out what was happening. First she wondered why Red had been there to save her so quickly, then she wondered how she had managed to get off the dock and into the water so fast anyhow. Then Vanellope realized she had stumbled off when she saw Taffyta's copy in the distance.

Vanellope immediately pushed Taffyta away from her and stood up looking in the direction where she saw the ghost. But no matter how hard she squinted and tried looking for the girl, Vanellope didn't spot her anywhere. "Vanellope what is wrong with you?" Taffyta, who was on the ground after being knocked over, asked angrily standing up and moving closer to the girl. She felt absolutely angered by the girl's actions. First she tried to run away from Taffyta, only to be clumsy and fall into the sea and now she couldn't even let Taffyta hug her after saving her life?

Vanellope turned and looked to Taffyta and then to Red. Red seemed incredibly tired and didn't seem to even care that either girl was safe at the moment. But Taffyta looked as if Vanellope had slapped her right in the face, Vanellope couldn't even begin to try and understand the situation that had just taken place. "I'm sorry..I just….thank you guys, I'm sorry" Vanellope began to say but turned to look for the girl's copy, not understanding why she was suddenly there and then suddenly not. Taffyta looked honestly hurt, unsure what to think of this side of Vanellope. "I'll see you tomorrow Vanellope.." Taffyta said and went to leave, Vanellope turned and watched her go unsure if she should follow her or not.

Red sighed and shook the soda off of him as he walked past Vanellope giving her his usual glare, which seemed a tad bit softer that night, and bowed to her "Gnight Princess.." he said simply and wandered off. Vanellope nodded at him and turned back to stare at the place where Taffyta's copy had been. 'Could she still be alive?'

* * *

"That doesn't seem like Vanellope.." Ran said as he, Snowana, Candlehead, and Taffyta sat in the garden behind the castle. He was busy watering some of the lollipop flowers while Candlehead sat down on a bench off to the side of the garden. Both were asked by Vanellope to go water the plants that day but unfortunately for Ran he was doing most of the work.

Snowana had offered to come along, anything to be close to Ran, and Taffyta had seen the small group on her way to meet Vanellope that morning. The girl had come by to talk about the situation last night at the docks in hopes that they could make up again, but Vanellope had left early with some guards to explore the docks again. As to why she was doing that when she nearly had been deleted due to her clumsiness, Taffyta didn't know.

Instead she shared her troubles with her friends. "I agree with Ran, Vanellope just flipping out and falling off the docks?" Snowana said and shook her head, "It just doesn't sound like our Princess, plus why were you guys even there so late?" Snowana asked and Taffyta blushed, remembering their intense kissing session before the incident. "Nothing, just catching up!" she blurted out and folded her arms, the group noted that Taffyta was obviously doing more than just catching up but decided to let it go.

"She didn't even say thank you?" Ran asked again, still in disbelief. Taffyta nodded, playing with a leaf from a candy tree "It was the strangest thing..one minute we were fine and happy..the next she couldn't even focus on me or Red right in front of her!" . Candlehead who had been remaining quiet the whole time perked her ears up when she heard Red's name, "Wait Red was there?" she asked and smiled a coy smile. Snowana and Ran rolled their eyes and Taffyta sighed, "I swear I've said that a good three times Candlehead…"

Candlehead clapped her hands together, "I swear I bet he has a crush on you Taffyta!" she beamed and Taffyta shook her head, feeling annoyed. "Honestly, he saved our Princess Vanellope at your request and he has been hanging around with you a lot lately!" Candlehead said and used her fingers to count out the other different times he had approached Taffyta. "That doesn't prove anything.." Ran said under his breath and Candlehead shot him a dirty look.

"Besides Vanellope.." Taffyta started to say but silenced herself as soon as she met eyes with all three of her friends. She did want to tell them that they were involved, together, basically dating. But she felt embarrassed and after all of the craziness last night and their arguing beforehand, Taffyta wanted to make up for real with Vanellope before making such an announcement.

"What about Vanellope?" Candlehead laughed and leaned back on the bench, "Honestly if I were you I'd get together with Red, although he can be kind of a bully…he seems to have a soft spot for you!" Candlehead laughed. You could tell that Ran and Snowana disagreed with Candlehead, obviously realizing the relationship going on between Taffyta and Vanellope and rooting for the girls instead of Red.

"Look, have faith in Vanellope…whatever is going on with her..I'm sure she will snap out of it soon." Ran said and smiled at Taffyta. Snowana seemed proud of his answer and flashed him a smile as well. Taffyta sighed and sat down next to Candlehead on the bench unsure of what to do exactly. She liked Vanellope a lot but as the days went by she felt further and further away from the Princess and closer to Red, in the end she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

* * *

"So are you sure it was Vanellope's copy you saw?" Marshmallow asked and shuffled his little feet back and forth on the grass. Guards surrounded the deck and all the area surrounding it as well as the banana boat, which almost made it impossible to observe when every few steps you ran into another guard.

"Okay honestly do we need this many guards?" Vanellope asked, ignoring Marshmallow's question, and placing her hands in her hoodie. Marshmallow gave her a look that she knew the answer was going to be yes. "I'm just saying…" Vanellope mumbled and searched the ground for some more clues.

Marshmallow searched the ground as well, almost colliding with an Oreo guard, and tried to continue their discussion together. "But honestly Vanellope..you think it was her?" he asked and the girl nodded, snickering a little as the treat collided with another Oreo guard. "I saw her while I was out here with Taffyta…I'm not sure for how long but she was definitely here…" Vanellope said, sounding positive.

If it were true that she indeed had seen Taffyta's copy and she actually had survived the deleting than there was a chance that she could help them in figuring out why Vanellope had been seeing Nelly around here lately. The bad part about seeing the girl's ghostly figure was that if Taffyta's copy had survived than so had Nellys, meaning that Nelly would once again be a dire threat to the land of Sugar Rush.

"But Vanellope.." Marshmallow said trying to keep up with the girl, "How come you've been the only one to see the girls…Sticky, Nelly and now Taffyta's copy?". The girl scratched her head and truly wondered about that for a moment. It was true that whenever she did see them that either no one was around or it was in her dreams, maybe she was crazy? "I honestly don't know…" Vanellope said, standing there in silence. Marshmallow went to comfort her when screaming could be heard from a distance.

The two immediately looked over to see Minty rushing towards them and waving her arms dramatically in the air. "Princess!" Minty yelled, you could see tears that streaked her face as she approached, "Princess…Swizzle has gone missing..!" she cried and an Oreo guard had to hold the poor girl up as she looked exhausted from her running and crying.

Vanellope looked at Marshmallow who was giving a judgmental look, unintentionally. "Are you sure he hasn't been racing or something…have you checked all over Sugar Rush?" Marshmallow asked. Minty nodded saying, "I couldn't find him all day yesterday, I asked around to the other racers as well and they hadn't seen him in two days or so.". Vanellope seemed worried then, it wasn't like Swizzle to just up and disappear for a few days, she went to Minty's side and pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll send out guards to look for him."

But as the day went on the guards kept coming back empty handed, checking in all the places they had hoped to find the boy and even in places they knew the racers would never be in. They checked the docks, the entrance of Sugar Rush, the entire track of Sugar Rush speedway; they even dared going to the area around Diet Cola Mountain. Vanellope then had a message sent out to the other games at the arcade that a Sugar Rush racer had gone missing, hopefully something would come back.

"It's a good thing we have Mark tho.." Marshmallow said as the two of them were heading back to the castle for the day, "He can race for Swizzle..so no one playing our game suspects a thing.". Vanellope had to agree that it was indeed a good thing that Mark was here, but it still upset her that Swizzle was missing.

As if the discussion of racing had somehow triggered it, the alarm sound and Vanellope's face lit up with joy. "Yes!" she said jumping up and down, then taking off for the track. She stopped when she didn't hear the pitter patter of feet behind her, "Aren't you coming?" she asked Marshmallow as he started to ascend the steps. Marshmallow smiled and waved at her, "Honestly..I think I'll sit this one out, go have fun Princess Vanellope!" he said and Vanellope's heart burst as she took off towards the track. They were finally going to let her drive alone without a guard! Although the tragedy with Swizzle and the craziness with Taffyta's copy were going on, Vanellope couldn't help but smile.


	9. Missing racers

"Is Swizzle really missing?" Taffyta asked as she made herself comfortable against her kart, it was going to be the copies turn to race today and Taffyta decided to sit this one out since she wasn't in the racing mood. Snowana waved to Ran as he got in line to race and he waved back, smiling at her. "I don't know…Minty claims she hasn't seen him in days" Snowana said and added, "When I think about it, I really haven't seen him either.". Taffyta did think about it then and she realized she hadn't seen the racer at all either. You always passed by a lot of people and candy in Sugar Rush but Swizzle she doesn't remember seeing once.

The counter on the clock once again started to tick downwards from ten and the usual screeching of tires was heard from the distance, Taffyta looked to see Vanellope approaching fast and for some reason her heart ached. Snowana saw the look Taffyta was giving Vanellope and smiled thoughtfully at her, "I think you guys look really cute together, I wish you'd make up." She said and Taffyta blushed. "What do you mean look cute together?" she asked awkwardly trying to laugh it off. Snowana gave her a knowing smile and left it at that, Taffyta tried to hide her smile.

When the counter hit zero the racers all took off from start, staying a good distance behind Mark who was chosen by whoever was playing at the time. The race was uneventful at first, a typical run. Vanellope caught up to Ran and the two of them raced each other for a moment or two, having fun. Vanellope then allowed the boy to speed up and get in second place, she felt he hadn't won too many races lately and that a second place would be nice.

From behind her there was a loud screeching noise and a crash. Vanellope looked back to find that there was only five karts behind her instead of six, which was unusual that someone had fallen so far behind. She would have continued to access the situation and figure out which copy had fallen behind, but she needed to focus on the road.

Mark flew across the finish line followed by Ran and then Vanellope, the other five racers shot through as well. Immediately the racers went to join their friends by their karts, cheering for them and talking about the race. Some of them even went to Mark to cheer him up since he didn't have Swizzle there to congratulate him. Vanellope slipped out of her kart and saw Taffyta in the distance standing alone behind the group; she took a deep breath in and went to talk to her.

"Nice race, but you got third?" Taffyta asked, rather coldly, as Vanellope stood next to her. Vanellope almost didn't speak as she was taken aback by the girls tone, "Yeah I let Ran get ahead of me.." she laughed and looked over to see Snowana and Rancis hugging the boy and cheering for him. Taffyta nodded as she looked at them as well saying, "That was nice of you.", but not really offering much else to the girl. Vanellope took a deep breath and turned to face Taffyta, she looked frustrated with her and Vanellope didn't even want to start the fighting up in front of everyone. But she had to tell Taffyta about the events going on, that or risk Taffyta being upset with her forever.

"Taffyta…I need to tell you something.." she started to say, Taffyta looked at her and noticed the girl was acting very serious. Typically when Vanellope did act like this it meant whatever she was going to say was going to be big news, Vanellope stood there waiting for her. "I wanted to furthermore apologize for how I behaved the other night, I saw something that scared me…not because I didn't want to ki.." she looked at the other racers to see if they were listening, all of them were engulfed in their own things so Vanellope continued, "It's not that I didn't want to be there with you, I just saw..I've been seeing..". Vanellope felt frustrated that she just couldn't get it out, her face was turning red and she felt incredibly embarrassed.

"Have you been seeing someone behind my back?" Taffyta asked suddenly, trying to finish the sentence for her. She figured if anything could explain how Vanellope was behaving it would either be that something terrible was going on with her or that she was seeing someone else, who it was Taffyta couldn't even begin to guess and it made her heart race fast.

"What?" Vanellope stammered out, "No..look okay..No.." she laughed and shuffled her feet on the ground. "A few times here the last couple of days I saw Nelly..and not only her but Sticky and finally last night I saw your copy." She finally blurted out and Taffyta's face went white. "I don't know why I saw them, but I did…several times.." Vanellope paused to see if Taffyta wanted to get her two cents in, when the girl remained quiet she continued, "The other night on the dock is when I saw your copy, I panicked and tried to get away from the situation and ended up hurting myself and your feelings..and I'm sorry.."

Taffyta tried to process all what Vanellope was saying. If the statements were true and Vanellope really had seen Nelly then that meant that Sugar Rush was in danger again. Ironically even though this meant terrible news for Sugar Rush, Taffyta was overjoyed to hear that Vanellope wasn't hiding anything from her anymore and that she really did like her as much as Taffyta liked her.

Vanellope was confused as to why Taffyta was smiling so brightly after telling her such terrible news. "You could be a little more happy about the possible destruction of Sugar Rush.." Vanellope laughed and Taffyta blushed and was about to tell the girl about her thoughts when she noticed a commotion with the racers and copies.

Candlehead had been waiting for her copies return for a while now, the race had been over for at least ten minutes now and still no sign of the girl was anywhere. "Guys, what happened to Cake?" Candlehead asked, it was obvious she was trying not to cry. All the racers and copies looked at each other. Some of them recalled the girl being in last place and others remembered a loud noise from behind them about halfway through the race, Vanellope recalled that as well.

"Even if she did crash..she'd regenerate right?" Candlehead yelled and seemed to startle a few of them. Vanellope looked down the track and almost half expected Cake to just ride her kart in at that moment, but as another minute passed on the group started to worry. "Everyone needs to calm down, I'll go ride the track again to look for her…" Vanellope said and quickly got into her kart. Some of the racers started to cheer but Taffyta raced through the crowd to Vanellope's kart.

"You shouldn't go alone.." Taffyta said and climbed into the kart behind her, it felt nice to be behind Vanellope again and the girl squeezed her arms around the tiny girl's waist. Within seconds they took off down the line and out on the track. Some of the remaining racers watched them as they did, others went to hug their copies and some of them even tried to calm down the candy citizens who had come to watch for that day's race and were growing worried.

The race track was quiet asides the humming of Vanellope's kart. Using both their eyes, Vanellope and Taffyta scanned the track for any sign of Cake. A piece of her kart, the skid lines where she crashed, anything would have been good to find out. But as they continued on down Vanellope sighed and looked back at Taffyta for a second, "The crash happened way back there…we're almost finished with the track now.." Vanellope said sadly. Taffyta seemed frustrated and squint her eyes. "How can somebody just disappear like that…" Taffyta wondered aloud.

"The same way Swizzle can disappear…"Vanellope said and it finally hit her, "When they are alone, that's when this thing..or racer is coming after them!". It finally made sense; Vanellope was being plagued only when she was alone. Nelly had approached her in the garden before the guard came and interrupted, Vanellope was last and far behind when the kart attacked her, and when she was far ahead and winning the race is when Nelly appeared out of nowhere. "They want us alone..so they can pick us off one by one..coming at us while we are this strong is too much for them." Vanellope said and Taffyta looked a little pale at the thought. She wasn't sure why Taffyta's copy had appeared with the both of them there, but Vanellope figured that tiny detail didn't matter.

"I am sure now that whatever is happening…has to be Nelly's plot, but we can't tell the other racers just yet…" Vanellope said earning her a disapproving stare from Taffyta. "Why wouldn't we tell our friends that their lives are in danger Vanellope!" she argued and Vanellope turned the kart to curve around the last bit of track. "Because..if we do they will start to panic, we can't allow Sugar Rush to go crazy..at least we can't let them know that Nelly is back at least.." Vanellope said and Taffyta sighed, "You sound like Sour Bill now.". Vanellope was a little hurt by that comment but laughed trying to shake it off. She did sound like Sour Bill and maybe keeping Nelly from the other racers was a bad decision, but she knew in the end it was better for them.

The girls zoomed back to the other racers and copies that all looked incredibly worried and curious to find out what happened to cake. Vanellope stepped out of the kart and helped Taffyta out as well before turning to the others and taking a deep breath. "We couldn't find Cake anywhere…nor could we find her kart." She stated and Candlehead broke into a sob while the others looked pale. "This is our second disappearance in the last few days…so it's been decided that.." she paused and looked at Taffyta, who smiled at her asides her being disappointed in not letting the racers know about Nelly.

"It's been decided that from now on everyone needs to have a buddy, someone they are with at all times.." Vanellope said sternly and the other racers looked to each other. Some were a mix of understanding while some seemed to be annoyed at the idea, especially Gloyd and Red. "I am only saying this to keep us racers safe until we figure out who is taking our racers.." Vanellope half-lied, it was true they still needed to do this to keep safe but she knew who it was doing this to the racers of Sugar Rush. "I don't care who your buddy is, it doesn't have to be your copy or your racer…but it needs to be someone.." she commanded and after a few minutes the racers dispersed seeing that their Princess had nothing more to add.

"Good job." Taffyta said and linked arms with the girl who seemed to be shaking, "Be my buddy?" she added and smiled at her. Vanellope nodded, glad to see the two of them actually being happy and together like this. As the racers went their separate ways, you could see some of them talking happily with their copy and some arguing. Probably discussing the buddy system. The only two left were Mark and Candlehead who both looked completely down, seeing they had no one to be buddies with.

"Um…Mark your buddy is going to be Candlehead.." Taffyta said and pointed to the girl, and giving him a smile. Mark looked at Candlehead and offered her a shy smile, though it was obvious he didn't want to be buddies with her. Candlehead scoffed and walked the other direction away from Mark, refusing to wait for him. Mark watched her as she left and then looked back at the Princess and Taffyta, "Really?" he asked and they both nodded. Mark sighed and ran to catch up with his new 'Buddy', who was a good ways ahead now.

Taffyta seemed to laugh at this and Vanellope chuckled a little as well. "C'mon..we need to let the castle know about the new system and about Cake's disappearance.." Vanellope said and led the girl with her. "Vanellope.." Taffyta said suddenly, looking concerned. Vanellope looked at her and smile, waiting for her to tell her what was wrong. Taffyta sighed, she didn't seem like she wanted to tell her and after a moment of silence she said, "Promise me if another racer goes missing we will tell everyone about the possibility that it is Nelly..". Vanellope sighed as well, unsure if she was allowed to make such a promise as a Princess. On one hand Vanellope's gut was with Taffyta, knowing that the longer they waited to tell the racers the worse it would be. But on the other hand Vanellope was with her Princess duties, knowing that she had to keep the public unaware of the intense dangers. Vanellope followed her gut, "I promise Taffyta…"

* * *

"You're good at rounding them up lass!" Nelly laughed as Nougestia returned with Swizzle and what looked to be Candlehead's copy. The two had ropes tied tight around their arms that looped around their neck as well. On their feet the rope was tied to look like shackles so they could walk but hardly run away, each wore a zombie look on their face.

Nougestia felt proud and handed the rope off to Nelly who seized it greedily and smiled at the two racers. "Two down…a whole bunch more to go!" she laughed and snapped her fingers. Immediately Torvald stood and walked up to Nelly, ready for orders. "Your next..bring me, about three more racers." Nelly commanded, Torvald nodded and took off towards the entrance of the game.

"By the way Nougestia..we will be moving soon." Nelly said suddenly as she removed the ropes from the two racers. Nougestia gave her a curious look but didn't dare question the Princess. Nelly smiled, happy that the girl had learned not to question her authority, and turned to her saying "We only need a few more racers and then we can leave this game to start on the next plan of action.".

As the girls were talking, Adorabeezle and Sticky arrived at the scene. Behind the two was the phantom who wore the red and white jumpsuit, he approached Nelly and looked at the two racers. Swizzle seemed to snap out of his daze and screamed as he made eye contact with the being.

"You're….you're..!" he cried and tried to scamper away, Nougestia and Adorabeezle both lunged at him and held him down as the being laughed. "Yes he is.." Nelly said and watched as the being placed his hands on Cake's forehead and her eyes darkened and then shone a bright eerie red. "And soon you will be too."


	10. Visiting

It had been a few days since the buddy system had gone into effect; most of the characters seemed to enjoy the system, some not so much. Red and Gloyd obviously stayed together for their buddy system, Minty and Jubileena both stayed with their copies as well. Ran and Snowana really threw the system off and caused problems with Rainbeu and Rancis. Rainbeu wanted to be with Carmella who left Rancis and Crumbelina stuck with each other. Rancis originally wanted to be with his copy but after a few days of Ran always being around Snowana and the two unintentionally leaving him out, he decided being around Crumbelina wasn't so bad.

Taffyta was paired with Vanellope as everyone expected and the two were in complete heaven as they were able to spend every waking moment together. What was even greater about the buddy system was that as soon as it went into effect there was hardly any troubles in Sugar Rush for a while. It would seem that whatever Nelly had planned was not working and it left Sugar Rush in complete harmony. But that harmony wouldn't last for long.

"You're going where?" Taffyta asked as Vanellope walked about the room, putting things away and grabbing a few items to put into her pack. Taffyta came that morning as she always did to spend time with Vanellope and because of the buddy system. Luckily because of the new rule, Taffyta was able to get in a lot easier now and spend time with the girl alone.

Vanellope smiled and explained again, "I said I'm going to visit the popcorn family today…the arcade is closed and I haven't seen them for a while.". Vanellope had received several visits from the family after taking her place as rightful Princess of Sugar Rush, but since the family always visited and always came to her, the girl figured it would be nice to visit them today.

"I asked Marshmallow to stay with you today, but I would love for you to come with me if you want?" Vanellope offered and Taffyta waved her hand at her. "No please, I enjoy that you get one on one time with them, I wouldn't want to bother them either." Taffyta said and stood up to join the girl. Vanellope wanted to let her know that she wouldn't be bothering them by coming along but she knew by stating this to her that it would only end up in argument and let the comment drop.

"But I am going to miss you." Taffyta said and took the girls hands, kissing her softly on the lips. Vanellope smiled into the kiss and returned it, feeling her heart catch fire. When the two pulled away, Taffyta suddenly looked sad and Vanellope frowned trying to figure out why. But before Vanellope could even bother asking, the pink racer beat her to it. "Vanellope, what are we exactly..?" she asked and Vanellope gave her a curious look.

"Well I…am Vanellope and you are Taffyta.." Vanellope said and laughed at the girl, she was trying to joke with her but Taffyta didn't seem to appreciate it. She sighed, letting Vanellope know she was being serious. "I mean..like do you think we are just friends or…" she trailed off, losing her confidence. Vanellope still had a hard time understanding and pried at the girl to tell her more. "Just never mind.." Taffyta said and squeezed the girls hand tightly; Vanellope smiled and kissed the girl on the cheek. "You are my greatest friend I will ever know Taffyta, but you are so silly sometimes." She laughed and turned to leave, "I'll be back this evening!" Vanellope called as she left. Taffyta sighed again and waved goodbye to the girl. Although Vanellope didn't mean they were actually 'just' friends, Taffyta was hurt by her words and wondered if that was what she meant.

Realizing she was alone now the girl quickly left the room and headed down and out of the castle. Although she loved Marshmallow, the girl wanted to be surrounded by other racers today instead of staying in the castle with Marsh doing castle duties.

Not even a second out of the castle and down the stairs, Taffyta felt somebody was watching her. She turned to find Red standing there, glaring at the girl as creepily as he possibly could. "You know for someone who is apparently 'people watching' you don't really broaden your choice in people that you watch." Taffyta stated and Red shrugged his shoulders. "Not true, I just watched the love birds make out in the forest." He commented and pointed back at a forest near the castle, it had lollipops and other assorted candies peeking out of it. Taffyta gave him an odd look and then shook her head.

"Why were you spying on Snowana and Ran, why are you so creepy?" she asked and continued walking ahead, away from the castle. Red shrugged his shoulders again, "I never said they were Ran and Snowana…and I left when it got kinda ridiculous." He said again smiling at the girl. Taffyta felt even more creeped out then and glared at the boy. She wasn't expecting to talk to him today and now that he was following her she felt annoyed more than anything.

Red always had a way to show up right when Taffyta was feeling down, but he also had a bad habit of never showing up when anyone else was around. In a way he really freaked Taffyta out and in other ways she was happy that they were friends. "Wait why are you alone, you're supposed to be with Gloyd!" Taffyta said, remembering the rules. Red shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not alone…" he said and Taffyta gave him a questioning look before she realized that he was indeed not alone, he was with her.

"But what about Gloyd?" Taffyta said and Red looked back at the forest that was slowly becoming smaller as they continued to walk. "I said I was watching some love birds didn't I?" he said with a light chuckle. Taffyta seemed surprised by the comment, both for Gloyd actually liking someone and for the fact that someone could like Gloyd. She mentally tried to picture who Gloyd had been fond with the last few weeks, but couldn't think of a certain racer. "Wait Gloyd and who else?" Taffyta asked realizing none of the girls could never possibly like that bully.

Red seemed amused by the girls interest in the matter, "How about this..I'm bored, you race me and win and I'll tell you.." he said smiling and Taffyta pouted. Red continued to stand there waiting for the girl to say yes or no while Taffyta decided whether or not she wanted to say yes to the agreement. On one hand Taffyta had nothing better to do, on the other this was indeed Red and he was a trickster.

"What do you win if I lose?" she asked and Red smiled, seeing that he obviously had reeled the girl in. Red thought for a moment and then smiled evily, "A favor." He said, and folded his arms. Taffyta waited for the boy to say more but he was unwilling to offer more than that. Taffyta nodded her head, "Deal."

* * *

Candlehead sighed heavily as she and Mark sat on the rainbow bridge leading in and out of Sugar Rush, "Your breathing is annoying me Mark.." Candlehead stated and caused the boy to give her a look. "My breathing..?" he asked and clutched his neck , the boy couldn't do anything right that day but he felt breathing was a little extreme. It didn't matter if Mark was ten feet away from her, she still would've found something he did wrong. Today, even though Candlehead was being a little more extreme, was no different from any of the other days he had spent with Candlehead. They always found some way they were annoyed with each other, Candlehead was just more vocal about her annoyances.

"Yes..you need to scoot away from me." She said and moved a little away from him as if to emphasize her point. Mark sighed and stood up walking a good couple steps away from the girl and turned back, holding his hands out "Better?". Candlehead nodded and Mark sat down. The two were completely bored and because neither of them had anything in common they couldn't find anything to do that they both wanted to do.

Mark used to explore the peppermint forests with Swizzle but Candlehead thought it was too minty. Candlehead wanted to sit and relax in the garden, drinking tea, but Mark didn't want to be seen doing such a girly thing. So the two decided to relax on the rainbow bridge, at least this high up they could see all of Sugar rush and possibly agree on another activity to do for the day.

It was quiet then in the land of Sugar Rush, both of them could have fallen asleep easily when the two suddenly heard a loud scream. Mark looked back at Candlehead, thinking she might have fallen or been bothered by something he did again, but she was too busy looking in the direction of the scream. "That sounded like…" Candlehead said, it took her a moment to process the tone of the scream before her brain clicked and she realized who it was. Getting up she grabbed for Mark's hand and yanked him from his seat. "C'mon!" she yelled and the two raced down the bridge and over towards Diet Cola Mountain.

* * *

Vanellope tapped lightly on the door of the small shack, hoping that the little candy creatures were home. At first she was nervous and looked back at the guard who accompanied her along the way, thinking that the popcorn family might have stepped out for the moment, but when she heard the scurrying of feet and the unlocking of hinges she smiled. Jo answered the door and attacked Vanellope with a hug, "Vanellope!" she yelled and Vanellope squeezed her tight as she stumbled back. The little popcorn seemed not so little anymore, she must have grown a good inch or two while she was away.

Ma and Pa popcorn came out next and hugged Vanellope tightly; eventually even Grammy was able to creep along to give Vanellope a small tender hug. The popcorn family reminded Vanellope a lot about aging and remembered that such a thing does happen in the land of Sugar rush. The candy creatures were the only ones who naturally aged and would eventually just regenerategoing from an old age back to a young kernel in the popcorn families case. However for the racers it was as if their time had not been stopped but slowed dramatically.

Vanellope remembers being a lot shorter and younger than she was now, back when Turbo had taken over. But now she was at least a year or two older as well as the other racers. Even if they looked the same and even if they eventually stopped aging all together, Vanellope knew this fact to be true.

"How have you been Princess?" Pa asked and invited her inside their small shack. Around the area there were several other shacks and villages where many other candy creatures had lived now. Vanellope remembered the whole Sugar Rush crew working together to make a land for the candy to live in after Nelly had destroyed their old one and placed them on the Candy Island.

When Vanellope came through the villages, searching for the popcorn family, she had to stop and say hi to several other candy creatures she had run into back on the island. Vanellope felt nice to have so many friends in this place. "I've been fine, how have you guys been?" Vanellope asked and the crew erupted in stories. Jo told most of them since she was a chatterbox when it came to Vanellope, then Ma and Pa told of a few interesting tales that had happened with the candy community. Grammy rocked back and forth in a chair Vanellope had brought her one visit and listened quietly to the group as they murmered on.

"Oh that reminds me.." Vanellope said and reached inside her pack that she had brought with her. "I brought you this Jo.." she said and pulled out the content from the pack, a small crown. The crown belonged to Vanellope as Princess of Sugar Rush, but Vanellope was growing incredibly annoyed of the flashy accessories and wanted Jo to have it.

The guard that was with Vanellope gaped at the present and Vanellope had to turn to remind him to keep quiet about this to the other guards. Jo smiled and took the crown, turning it in her hands lovingly. "Thank you Vanellope.." she said and placed it atop her head, it didn't fit perfectly but it did fit. Ma and Pa looked as if the present was made from the finest of material, they both went to try and have the Princess take it back.

"Please, I want her to have it..I'm not into these things..trust me." She laughed and Jo zoomed around the shack with it on. Ma smiled and you could see tears grace her eyes as well as Pa's, "Thank you Vanellope.." he said for the two of them and Vanellope smiled back at them. "Your welcome."

The visit continued on with talk about the castle, what Vanellope had been up to, and how Taffyta was doing. They were about halfway through their visit when there was a loud bang at the door. Vanellope turned while Ma got up to answer it, the whole bunch seemed on edge from the loud noise that erupted their conversation.

"Hello..?" she asked as she opened the door, barely enough for the visitor to see her. On the other side was another Oreo guard looking very grave. "Excuse me miss…you wouldn't happen to have Vanellope here..?" he asked, peeking somewhat inside. Vanellope stood up walking towards the door,opening it completely to let the guard in. "What happened?" she asked the guard, he seemed very upset and took a heavy breath before saying "A lot Princess, quite a lot.."


	11. Quickly beating hearts

Vanellope's feet gave off a loud tapping noise as she ran up the stairs towards the castle entrance, her guards in tow. An hour ago Vanellope had received terrible news about another disappearance; this time they had seen someone in a red and white kart take the racer. It was only one particular racer but this racer was going to affect the young Princess greatly.

Pushing through the doors she nearly fell over herself as she ran down the hallway leading to the grand throne room; several other guards seemed surprised with the girl's sudden appearance but followed her to the throne room where Ran and Marshmallow was waiting along with Candlehead and Mark.

"Where is she?" Vanellope asked and looked around the throne room for the girl. The guards had told her that Snowana had been kidnapped by a girl in the red and white kart, but Ran had chased them down with his own kart. Ran looked like a mess, his eyes were red and dried up tears were painted on his face. "Vanellope…I couldn't catch up…she..they took her.." Ran sobbed and Vanellope rushed to his side and embraced him in a hug.

Marshmallow, Mark and Candlehead all stared at the two, feeling sad and unsure how they could help. Vanellope stared back at them and waited for one of them to talk, to explain what indeed had happened to their friend Snowana. "Mark and I heard a scream from over by Diet Cola Mountain…" Candlehead started out and the whole group turned towards her, she was gravely serious and it almost frightened the crew. Candlehead was a silly and dramatic kind of girl, being serious just wasn't in her nature.

"By the time we got there, Ran was sitting in his kart crying..he told us that he and Snowana were walking when someone attacked them from behind, taking Snowana, and riding off.." she said and looked at the ground. Ran hugged Vanellope tighter as Candlehead told his story, he seemed to flinch every time the girl said Snowana's name.

"How.." Vanellope said and stopped herself from speaking, she knew how it had happened and it was plain to see that this time the enemy got the upper hand. But how was Nelly, who only a few days ago was not able to attack them unless they were alone, able to get the strongest couple of Sugar Rush? Marshmallow clapped his hands together, "Alright…Candlehead and Mark I need you two to get all the Sugar Rush racers over to the castle to alert them of the news…Ran I will prepare a guard for you to be with until we can find you a new buddy." Marshmallow said.

Candlehead and Mark nodded and took off towards the exit, surprisingly taking orders and not complaining about them while Marshmallow went to alert Sour Bill. Ran and Vanellope were the only ones left, standing in the middle of the throne room. "C'mon, let's go outside and get some fresh air okay?" Vanellope said and grabbed the boys hand, leading him out.

Ran followed her and held her hand tightly, the move made Vanellope feel like she was actually helping in a way and she smiled back at the boy. "Vanellope.." he said suddenly just before they were about to walk outside, Vanellope stopped and turned towards the boy who looked more like a ghost than the normal racer he typically was. "I chased them to Diet Cola Mountain…and then I saw a bright sparkly light open up and suck the two of them in…I, I…" he stopped, choking on his words. "I got scared and slammed on my breaks…then the kart disappeared…" he sobbed.

Vanellope felt awful, unsure how to calm him. "Ran..I'm glad you didn't go into the light, you have no idea where they were taking her.." Vanellope said and rubbed small circles on the boys back. Telling him that, or anything for that matter, didn't seem to help and he continued to sob. Vanellope stayed there with him, trying to calm him down and thought about the sparkly light. Nelly had the power of transportation; it was obvious that the attacker was her.

"Ran did you see anyone in the vehicle…" Vanellope asked and Ran tried in an effort to dry his tears, "Yeah…there were two of them, but I could only see one.." he stammered and Vanellope waited for him to tell her who he saw. "She had a bright blue bow on and a blue outfit..I don't think I've really seen her before but she looked a lot like Minty in a weird way.." he said quietly and Vanellope's heart stopped when she realized who he was describing. The attacker was Sticky.

* * *

"That's two out of three races that I've won Miss Taffyta." Red said as he climbed out of his kart and walked over to Taffyta who was already out of her own. She pouted and wanted to demand a rematch but knew she couldn't beat the kid. "Why don't you ever race like that on the track?" she asked as they leaned against the kart. Red shrugged his shoulders and looked out onto the track as if he was thinking deeply on the matter, "I guess I just don't want to show off." He said quietly and Taffyta laughed, causing him to glare at her.

"I just like to have my fair amount of attention, any more and everyone would bother me.." he said and Taffyta thought more about what he said. It was true that Vanellope was an attention getter, she craved the praise and approval of her fellow racers, causing her to always be adored and followed by the other racer's. Gloyd and Red also liked to have the people's attention, mostly by upsetting them, but not quite as often as the Princess. Taffyta seemed to understand what the boy meant, but it was only because she really thought about it and figured the boys situation out. "You really surprise me Red.." Taffyta said and smiled at him.

Red smiled back and took a step away from his kart, "Okay, well I did fairly win the race so you owe me a favor." He stated and pointed to Taffyta. The pink racer sighed, "Oh of course, what is this exact favor?". Red smiled coyly and scratched his head, thinking hard about what favor he could possibly get from the girl. Taffyta laughed at first but when the boy started to think more about the favor she started to grow nervous and she could feel her heart beating against her chest.

"My favor is, I want you to give me something of yours." He said finally and held out his hand. Taffyta gave him a look, "That's not a favor, you should have made me giving you something part of the bet?" she concluded but the boy remained standing with his hand out for her. Taffyta sighed and looked over her outfit for something to give the boy. Everything she saw would look ridiculous on him, if he was wearing it that is. She had her white gloves, her jacket, cap, and shoes on but nothing like a jewelry or earring that she could easily give him.

Taffyta looked down at her shoes and at the white laces for a moment before bending down and pulling one of them loose and tying it into a loop. The white piece of fabric looked incredibly dull then and Taffyta felt incredibly unsatisfied with the item until she remembered the contents of her pocket. Reaching in she found several sucker wrappers to which she used to wrap and decorate the string with. Red looked at Taffyta as she went through the process, he almost had a judging sort of look to him and Taffyta nearly stopped a few or more times to return the harsh look, but was determined to finish.

Finally she walked over to him and took his hand, slipping on the bracelet. It was Taffyta's white shoe strings tied together and decorated with sucker wrappers. Red held it up to his face and scoffed, "What a silly thing to give a boy.." making Taffyta mad. "You asked me to give you something!" she yelled and Red smiled coyly at her as she continued to rant about his rude behavior.

"Alright, geeze thanks for the gift.." he said, although he sounded annoyed with the girls whining. Taffyta leaned against her kart and stuck her nose up in the air, "Your welcome.." she said and pouted a bit. The two were quiet, listening to the humming of Sugar Rush before Red coughed and spoke up to clear the silence, "I saw Gloyd with Rancis."

Taffyta stamped her foot and glared at the boy, "You told me he was with someone, you liar!" she yelled and felt incredibly foolish for falling for Red's plan and getting her to stoop to his level. "He..was with someone.." Red said and for the first time ever Taffyta saw the boy blush. It took a second for the girl to process before her face turned bright red as well. "Oh…" she said realizing the love birds were Rancis and Gloyd.

Once again the two were in complete silence until Taffyta started to laugh, "I can't believe I didn't think of that…wow, I'm an idiot." She said between her laughs and smiled at Red who seemed clueless why she thought the situation was so funny but smiled weakly at her anyways.

Eventually Taffyta controlled her laughing and Red went to his kart pointing at it, "Wanna race again?" he asked and smiled at her. Taffyta nodded and rushed over to his side, "What are the stakes this time?" she asked and the boy scratched his head. "No stakes..just fun." He said and laid his hand on the girl's shoulder. Taffyta nodded and went to go get into her kart but felt Red's hand remain hard on her shoulder, when she turned to face him the boy had his glare etched back on his face and he moved his other hand to her other shoulder, squeezing it.

"Taffyta…I need to tell you something, something very urgent.." he said and squeezed her arms tightly again to further his point. The move made Taffyta's heart race and the two of them were uncomfortably close, she could feel his breath coming down right on her face. Red moved closer and Taffyta froze, unable to move, thinking he was about to kiss her. But the boy moved close over her ear and pulled her closer so there was literally not space between them.

"I need to tell you about.." he started to say but a voice distracted him, "Taffyta, what are you two doing?" Candlehead said as she approached the two. Taffyta immediately pushed Red off of her and took a step back, as if he were on fire and touching him was going to burn her. "Ah…ah.." she said and looked between Red and Candlehead. The girl had somehow come out of nowhere scaring the daylights out of both of them, Mark was behind her and he seemed to give the girl a cold stare. He was one of the copies who knew about Vanellope and Taffyta.

Red, who had been knocked on the ground by Taffyta's harsh shove, stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants, "Nothing, we we're talking..it's honestly none of your business." He said and gave them a cold glare back. Taffyta was rooting for Red's side of the argument and it was the truth that they were literally just talking, but what Red had been doing was not just talking and Taffyta's blushing face was proof of that. He literally had moved too close to Taffyta and hugged her tightly, pressing his mouth to her ear. To anyone looking of course it would seem they were kissing or at least unreasonably close.

Candlehead wasn't sure what to say to Red's remark and instead stared at Taffyta who looked as if she were about to pass out. Mark however had plenty to say, "Princess Vanellope has requested everyone to head to the castle…immediately." He commanded, Red scoffed and did what he was told while Taffyta stood there at the kart. "Why are we going?" she asked concerned there might have been another kidnapping incident and added, "What's wrong?". Both Candlehead and Mark ignored her comment and waited for her to follow. Taffyta sighed and followed the group, but her mind was back at the kart and the moment that just happened between her and Red.


	12. The announcement

The throne room was filled with racers, copies, guards and the royal staff including Vanellope, Marshmallow and Sour Bill. It had only taken them an hour or two to get everyone together so Vanellope could tell them the news about Nelly and the racers that had been deleted. The Princess had watched as everyone clammered in and waved to Taffyta as she entered in with Red and the others. Taffyta waved back although the girl looked severely troubled and caused Vanellope to grow nervous.

She had been preparing talking to them about this moment for a while now, but now that she was here and in this moment she felt like running away. Marshmallow stood next to her and held her hand as he could see it was visibly shaking. She was glad that her friend was by her side and she squeezed his hand as he took hers.

The entire group was now inside the throne room, Vanellope sat atop her throne and her subjects stood at the bottom of the throne looking up at her. Some were honestly curious why they were here, others knew why and were awaiting for the Princess to tell the others. The mood was gravely serious as Vanellope stood and cleared her throat.

"Sugar Rush racers..I have terrible news.." she started off and the crowd erupted in small murmurs. "Today another friend of ours has disappeared, Snowana, and she has been taken by someone who drove a red and white kart…we aren't one hundred percent sure of who it was that took her.." Vanellope said and held her breath for the big finale, "But we believe it might be Nelly…and some old racer accomplices.."

The room once again erupted in noise and Vanellope waited for them to get their anger, worries and talks under control before she continued. "I am unsure how many of them..are under Nelly's control, but we are able to confirm that Sticky was one of the racers who crossed over.." Vanellope stated and Minty stamped her way to the front, "Why would Sticky do such a thing!" she yelled as Minty's copy, Minny, had to hold her back. The girl had been hurt the worse when Sticky had been deleted, hearing such accusations though seemed to be a huge slap to the girls face. "Sticky was my friend..how could you say that Princess!"

Vanellope seemed to lose her words than, unsure how to calm the gil down. Ran moved out in front of the girl to defend Vanellope, "She may be our friend but that doesn't mean she wasn't corrupted by Nelly!" he yelled at Minty and the girl held a hand over her mouth, trying not to cry. "Attacking the Princess won't do a thing, your being rude!" Ran stated and someone laughed from the back. All the racers turned to see Gloyd snickering about the boy's outburst, "At least she's doing something, unlike someone here." Gloyd laughed and Ran's face went bright red with anger.

"Let's face it, questioning the Princess is all we can do right now…you however really showed the other side whose boss by being a coward and running awa…" Gloyd said but was met with Ran's fist. Everyone, including Vanellope, was surprised by Gloyd's harsh comment. But they were even more surprised when Ran walked over and decked the boy right across the face. The two rolled around on the floor awhile, punching and kicking each other before the guards came and tore them apart. As they did you could see Ran had a swelling eye and his shirt was torn slightly at the cuff, Gloyd's cheek was swelling as well and his hat had fallen off in the midst of the fight. Within the group they had all turned and argued with one another. Racers and copies, enemies and friends, the whole group had gone crazy.

"ENOUGH!" Vanellope yelled and the entire establishment went eerily quiet. Marshmallow took a step away from the girl, fearing what she'd be like when she was mad. "We are a family…we have to stick together..Nelly is trying to get us against each other; we can't let her win…" Vanellope said and the group looked ashamed for upsetting her, even Gloyd.

"Now..you must all be on high alert, Nelly is out there…plotting and she will do anything and everything to get ahold of you and take over Sugar Rush..we can't let her destroy our world again." Vanellope said and went to finish her speech off, "We are devising a plan now…if anyone has any ideas on how to stop Nelly or how to find her…please let me know, thank you.". The racers all nodded and understood what Vanellope had said. A few of them apologized to their comrades as the Princess walked off and into another room, needing a quiet moment to herself to think.

As soon as the racers were excused by the guards the group became louder and discussed the meeting as they descended the steps of the castle. Most of them agreed with Vanellope, but there were a small handful who still thought she was wrong and that staying together would spell their doom. Gloyd being one of them. As he walked away from the castle he turned to look at Ran, giving him a thumbs up.

"Nice punch man…but next time I'll do more damage to that eye of yours." He laughed and Ran clenched his fists. "You think you're so cool because you're like a bully and you tease everyone, but nobody's going to miss you when you're gone Gloyd…once Nelly comes afer you." Ran said coldly, he was joined by Red, Taffyta, Candlehead and Mark who all stared down at Gloyd.

Gloyd smiled evilly back and shrugged his shoulders, "Who says I want to be missed?" he asked and walked the rest of the way down the steps and to his kart where he sped off into the distance. The whole group watched as he went, silently, until Candlehead shook her head and said, "That guy probably is in cahoots with Nelly anyways.." and laughed.

The whole group looked at her and then at each other, it wouldn't surprise anyone but it also wouldn't help the situation if Nelly had an inside guy. "We can't go pointing fingers guys..for all you know Vanellope could be the bad guy." Red said, trying to defend his racer. Mark shot him a cold look, "This coming from the guy who's trying to steal her girlfriend huh?"

The whole group fell silent again and Candlehead looked at Mark wide eyed as if he had just killed somebody. Red scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Are you talking about earlier?" he asked and Mark clenched his hands tighter while Ran looked between Taffyta and Red. Taffyta's face was pale and she felt she would pass out at any moment if she didn't get out of the situation.

As if she was summoned there to interrupt this exact moment, Vanellope jumped right on top of Ran causing the boy to let out a giant 'oof'. "Man you really clobbered Gloyd!" Vanellope laughed and hugged Ran who was a mix of confused and happy. The whole group was the same and wasn't sure how to behave around Vanellope after learning Red and Taffyta's secret.

Taffyta looked the worst out of the group, she seemed like she was torn between coming out and telling Vanellope her part of the story or waiting and seeing if anyone else from the group did first. She was worried Vanellope wouldn't trust her or that she would stop being her girlfriend, if that was what they really were.

Everyone else in the group seemed to think the same, not sure if they should let Vanellope know now or let Taffyta be the one to tell her. So they did what they all thought was best, but was actually the worst, nothing. The day slowly sunk into the evening and the racers all went their separate ways but still followed the buddy system. Mark and Candlehead looked after Ran since the group was uneven and he wouldn't have a buddy anytime soon, while Red went after Gloyd wherever he may be.

Vanellope tried to get Taffyta to stay up and talk with her through the night, terribly missing the girl. But she felt sick and excused herself for bed. Vanellope sighed, trying not to think much about it and heading to her own room for the night. As she walked the long hallway towards her room she was met with Marshmallow who looked terribly tired and worn from the meetings about Nelly that he was asked to attend to for Vanellope.

"Figure anything out yet?" Vanellope asked the little treat, who shook his head no and Vanellope gave him a small smile. "Niether did I.." she said quietly as the two walked. The royal staff, Vanellope, Marshmallow, the Oreo guards, and even the racers all had different thoughts on how to beat Nelly and her army of betrayed racers, but none of them knew exactly how to follow through with the plan. Some of them believed running away would be the best choice, but by doing so would result in the game being unplugged again. Others believed trying to capture Nelly was the best course of action, but how?

It seemed no matter what plan they had to beat Nelly it was always followed through with a negative. Vanellope sighed as they approached her bedroom and turned towards the treat, "We will figure something out soon.." she said although her heart wasn't in the words. Marshmallow nodded, agreeing but not believing the words as well. Vanellope said her goodnights and went through the door to her bedroom as Marshmallow stood guard with a few other Oreo guards.

As Vanellope crawled into bed, she stared at the ceiling and for the first time since Snowana's disappearance she felt like crying. She had let another close friend wind up kidnapped and it was all thanks to her being negligent and leaving the castle to visit friends. Although nobody blamed Vanellope, she still felt guilty and it haunted her dreams as she slept that evening.


	13. Psychic

"Do you know what's wrong with Taffyta?" Vanellope asked Candlehead as she helped Ran and Mark water the plants that morning after the speech, the garden was beautiful in the sparkling sun and the rock candy plants flashed an array of various colors. Candlehead paused and looked to the ground, searching for an excuse not to talk about what she saw happen between Red and Taffyta. "What do you mean?" she asked and Ran smiled weakly at the girl. His eye was pretty black today and its swelling had not gone down. Mark refused to look at any of them, seeming upset by the topic.

"I mean I tried to talk with her last night and she completely avoided me, then when I went to see her this morning she was already off at the racetrack…" Vanellope stated and played with her hands, "I would have gone after her but I think she's mad at me..so I decided to give her space.". Candlehead took a deep breath in and turned to Ran who shook his head no as well as Mark. The three were wondering whether or not they should tell Vanellope what they saw, but after a long talk they realized it was Taffyta's job to tell her. Not theirs.

"I think you should talk to her.." Ran said before Candlehead could get a single word out, "Whatever is bothering her..it would be better to hear it from her, not us." He said and smiled at his Princess. Vanellope gave him a curious look back; it scared her that everyone might know what was wrong with Taffyta, except her. She had always known things before anyone in Sugar Rush about Taffyta, how could she let everyone else know but leave her out of it?

"Fine, I'll go talk to her now, thanks guys." Vanellope said and was out of the garden and off to her kart within the minute leaving the group behind to talk. "Why did you have to go and tell Taffyta to flirt with Red all the time Candlehead, look what you've caused!?" Ran said as soon as he saw Vanellope far away enough that he knew she wouldn't hear. Candlehead seemed offended by the accusation, "Excuse me but nobody ever told me that Taffyta wasn't single, especially Taffyta." She argued back and the two boys sighed, annoyed. Candlehead was a little ignorant when it came to obvious things like Taffyta and Vanellope, although the girl joked with Taffyta about the relationship she never expected the two to obviously be together.

"Plus it isn't my fault that she decided to do what she did; in fact it's not any of our faults except Taffyta's." Candlehead said and crossed her arms, the boys sighed again and Ran crossed his arms as well. They had to agree that asides any advice, jokes, or talk that people did with Taffyta that she was on her own when it came down to the final decision.

Ran looked into the distance, he couldn't see Vanellope anymore and she probably was already on her way to see Taffyta. "I just hope that whatever has happened…that Vanellope doesn't get hurt in the end."

* * *

Taffyta was sitting parked in her kart at the Sugar Rush speedway and staring up at the sky. The pixelated white clouds looked beautiful that day and she wished she wasn't feeling so rotten so she could actually enjoy them. All night the girl had tossed and turned, unable to sleep and feeling completely guilty at something that hadn't even happened.

Her friends were upset with her, Red was bugging her, and her closest friend Vanellope had no clue what was even happening. She wanted to tell her that it was all a misunderstanding, that Red hadn't kissed her. But how was she even going to do that? No Red hadn't kissed her, he just pulled himself so close to her that it looked like it? Taffyta rubbed her eyes and groaned loudly, what was she going to do?

"I heard if you rub your eyes too much they'll fall out." Red said as he walked up next to her kart. Taffyta ignored him and even looked the opposite direction he was standing in. She could hear him sigh and walk around her kart so she had to face him, "You're kinda childish.." he said and Taffyta's face went red. "I'M CHILDISH?" she screamed and jumped up pointing a finger at his face.

"You're the one acting childish!" she snapped back and the boy remained silent, sporting his usual annoyed look. It enraged Taffyta how smug and cool he tried to act, even when people were upset with him. "How?" he simply asked and Taffyta folded her arms, "You tried to make it look like we we're intimate yesterday…you tricked me and now I'm going to have to explain it to Vanellope before everyone else does.".

Red shrugged his shoulders, "Okay, explain it to her then..?" he asked and Taffyta grew even angrier by his cocky attitude. "How it all?" she questioned and sat back down in her seat, "How do I even begin to explain when I have no idea what even happened?" she asked and wiped away at a tear that was falling from her eye. Typically Taffyta wasn't one to try and show tears, but for this situation she just didn't care enough to hide them.

Red remained silent while Taffyta sat pouting in her kart. The two of them remained that way for a few minutes before Taffyta got out of her kart and slammed another finger into his chest, "Why did you try and kiss me yesterday.." she demanded and Red gave her a annoyed look. "Kiss you?" he asked and Taffyta nodded, "Stop playing dumb, why did you push yourself on me like that..tell me now." She demanded again and Red sighed.

"I wasn't trying to kiss you, I had to tell you something..I was warning you about the next person who was going to be taken.." he said and shoved his hands in his pockets. Taffyta took a step back, "You were trying to tell me about Snowana…?" she questioned and the boy nodded, feeling shy all of a sudden. "So why didn't you just tell me…why did you have to be weird?" Taffyta asked and the boy shrugged again, obviously annoyed that she didn't just know why.

"Because I didn't want anyone to know..I was trying to be quiet and tell you something but you had to make it all weird as well." He said and looked at the ground. The girl thought about the moment yesterday, she tried to think of when she was acting weirder than he was but couldn't think of a single moment. She wanted to argue the very accusation but doing so would possibly result in her losing any more information she could get out of the boy, "So..are you on Nelly's side or something..?" she asked and got ready to make a break for it if the boy said yes. Red scoffed and said, "I wish that were it, but…" he trailed off and the boy actually looked like he was going to get upset, "I can see bits of the future.."

Taffyta almost laughed, thinking he was some corny psychic but when the boy remained serious she questioned him further. "How are you psychic and why would that be a bad thing for people to know about?" she asked. Red kicked a rock with his shoe saying, "It's my power…I can tell when people are going to win or lose a race..even me, I've been able to even change the future because of my power…some of it, not all." Red explained and Taffyta stared at him in wonder. "I don't want people to know..cause they'll exploit me..like Princess Nelly did."

It all made some sense now in a way to Taffyta but she still wasn't sure of a couple of things. "What were you trying to tell me yesterday..and the other time before our race.." she asked, honestly curious about how much he had known. "The first time I was going to tell you that I was psychic..I didn't have anything future-istic for you to know, I just figured since you told me a special secret like Vanellope I would tell you mine.." he said smiling and Taffyta smiled as well, remembering their talk about her girlfriend. "The second time I was going to tell you because I saw that Snowana was going to be next..I was going to warn you that Ran would need lots of attention and help from you…but I wasn't expecting all this to come out of it.." he said glumly and leaned against Taffyta's kart.

Taffyta went to lean against the kart with him and she smiled. Everything Red said had sounded truthful, the events and why he had done the things he had done. Taffyta was still going to have to tell Vanellope about yesterday and explain it the best she could, but having this better understanding about Red helped give her the confidence she had to tell Vanellope.

"Thank you for telling me.." she said and smiled at the boy, Red smiled back at her as well. "Taffyta…can you promise me something if I tell you something else about the future..?" Red asked turning to face the girl. Taffyta nodded making sure she looked into his eyes as she did, "I promise.". Red nodded as well and said, "Can you promise me you won't tell anyone…I mean anyone, about my power." He asked and Taffyta thought a moment, taking into all considerations before promising such a promise.

"Yes I do promise.." she said after thinking hard about it for at least a minute, her response earned her another smile from the boy who took a step closer and leaned over into her ear and whispered, "The next one will be Minny..". Taffyta had to think for a moment on what exactly he meant, then she understood that he meant the next kidnapped racer was going to be Minty's copy, Minny. When he leaned back the two looked into each other's eyes and Taffyta reached for his hands, "Thank you, Red." She said and squeezed them tight. Red smiled a shy sort of smile and squeezed them back, happy to have the girl as his friend.

"Taffyta.." Vanellope said, and the two nearly jumped out of their skins. Taffyta turned to find Vanellope standing there, next to her kart, and looking quite hurt at the scene she just watched play out. Taffyta looked at her and then at Red and realized they were still holding hands, "Vanellope please it's not what it looks like." She said and took a step towards the girl.

Vanellope took a step back and a tear fell down her face as she did. "Then what is it?" she asked, the girl looked so hurt that Taffyta had a hard time searching for words to explain to her what was going on. "I.." she started out but remembered she had promised Red not to reveal his secrets. "Vanellope he was just telling me something..we weren't doing anything." She complained and Vanellope gave her an odd look. "I think I saw that you were doing a lot more than just passing secrets…" Vanellope said coldly.

She had driven up to the two, climbed out and called Taffyta's name and yet the two love birds were so engulfed in each other they didn't even hear her till she was right next to them. She had seen the way Taffyta looked at him, how he leaned over to kiss her and how she grabbed his hands afterwards. She had seen it all and felt like her heart was completely in two.

"Princess..please she's telling the truth we didn't do anything." Red said, defending Taffyta for the first time. Taffyta would have turned to smile at him but she was so upset over hurting Vanellope's feelings she couldn't even begin to focus on Red's. A large humming noise was heard and distracted the group well before anyone could think to get another word in. Vanellope turned to see Karts approaching, fast. She squinted to see who was coming up to them in such a hurry and found that it was none other than Carmella and Crumbelina along with Rancis and Gloyd. The karts skid to a stop and Carmella shouted out, "Princess, there was another kidnapping!".

Vanellope wiped away at her tears and walked up to the girl, "Who was it this time?" she asked and Gloyd snickered under his breath, "Shouldn't you know..?". He received a dirty look from Taffyta and he silenced his comments. "It was Minny…Minty is in bad shape too!"

The groups rushed back to the castle just in time to see Marshmallow walk slowly out of the castle, looking dishearten. Vanellope jumped out of Gloyd's kart just as it came to a stop and ascended the steps to meet Marshmallow, "What happened..!" she begged him to tell her. Marshmallow was so down he looked as if all the fluff was taken out of him, "Minty was just deleted Miss…and they took Minny as well.." Marshmallow spluttered and tried not to cry. Vanellope held him close and turned to the others. Another two racers had been deleted.

* * *

Minty and Minny were sitting on the rainbow bridge together, waiting for the day to grow exciting. They enjoyed getting time to rest and do their own things but they also didn't want to be sitting around all day. Neither one of them expected what was to happen next.

A red and white kart shot out of the Sugar Rush entrance and over the girls, both of them screaming as they ducked for cover. The kart slammed into the bridge and skidded to a stop, the force of the kart caused the bridge to shake a little but remain intact. Before Minny could even look up she felt a hand on the back of her neck and she blacked out.

Minty watched in horror as she saw a woman who looked like Vanellope grab Minny by the neck and shock her. The girl fell limp and Sticky walked out of the kart to pick the girl up and drag her into the red and white kart with her. "Sticky!" Minty screamed, but the girl didn't turn or even glance her way as she loaded the girl's copy into the kart.

Minty was frozen, paralyzed with fear until she saw the Vanellope look alike climb back into the kart and drive off. Regaining her courage the girl jumped into her own kart, at the edge of the bridge, and slammed on the gas. The girl and her kart took off towards the red and white one that twisted and zoomed through Sugar Rush, Minty was surprised to see as she passed guards and other authorities and yet not a single one stopped to help.

Minty continued to follow behind her until she realized they were heading straight for Diet Cola Mountain. She hit the gas harder; remembering when Ran had explained this was when the kart disappeared. "Minny!" she screamed as her kart zoomed ahead and next to the red and white one. Minty caught the eyes of all the passengers in the kart and froze. There, driving the kart, was a racer in a white and red jumpsuit and when she looked at him in the eyes it completely paralyzed her soul. Minty turned to see Diet Cola Mountain approaching much faster than she had expected, she was going to crash into the Mountain, but she would regenerate…right?

The red and white kart zoomed through the Mountain into a sparkly white light as Minty slammed into it. Her kart immediately threw her out and into the side of the Mountain as well, Minty screamed and blacked out.

Minty remembers waking up at the castle, her body fading in and out and trying to tell them about the man in the jumpsuit or about the Vanellope look alike. When the castle staff all tried to ask her who had done this terrible deed to her all Minty could choke out before fading into nothingness was, "Vanellope."


	14. Pointing fingers

"I don't understand…why I need to stay in the castle.." Vanellope whined and looked out the window of her room. All she wanted to do was go out and race with her friends, especially after the incidents that had happened that day. But because of the threat the girl was facing at being deleted and other small issues, the castle advised her to stay inside.

"Miss the last thing Minty said was your name..and that was just after we asked her who had hurt her, we can't take any chance.." Sour Bill said and Vanellope turned to him and gave him a cold look, "Are you actually accusing me of hurting Minty?" she yelled and the little candy took a step back, Marshmallow flinched as well as he sat down on the girls bed. Vanellope noticed how she had frightened the two and took a step back, "I'm sorry.." she said calmly.

"It's alright Miss…but believe me, this isn't because we think you've done it…it's because.." Sour Bill trailed off and looked towards Marshmallow, the two had been calming the other racers down most of that day and were fearful of a rebellion. "There were other racers there..some believed Minty and are giving you a bad name.." he said. Vanellope wanted to ask which of the racers had thought that, but she already could guess a few.

"So how long am I to be stuck here..?" Vanellope asked and looked at the floor, feeling down. "At least until we can figure out how to calm the people down…or at least until we can nab Nelly." Sour Bill stated and Marshmallow clapped his hands together, "I know what will cheer you up!" he beamed and ran towards the door, "I'll go get Taffyta, she can come keep you company!" the little candy said as he reached for the handle.

"That won't be necessary.." Vanellope said and waved him off, "If you're afraid of me being alone please send in Ran or even Mark.." she suggested and went back to staring out the window. Both Sour Bill and Marshmallow looked at each other, confused, but didn't argue with the girl. As if to taunt Vanellope even more with the fact she had to now stay at the castle, the alarm rang out and alerted the leftover racers that it was time for a race. Marshmallow quickly left the room with Sour bill, the two had to find a replacement for Minty's spot and Vanellope's before the next race took off. Vanellope continued to stare out the window, completely lost in her misery.

* * *

"So Vanellope was behind the entire thing?" Crumbelina asked as Gloyd moved his kart closer to the line, almost half the racers were there and already Gloyd was bad mouthing Vanellope. "Yup, I mean it makes sense doesn't it?" he said as a few other racers listened in as well as the copies. "Vanellope was always missing when the racers had been kidnapped, she's been acting off the last few weeks, and if memory serves me right..wasn't she the original owner of the red and white kart?" Gloyd said as he leaned back in his kart.

The racers all looked at each other and then back at Gloyd, it did make sense that Vanellope could easily be the tyrant instead of so called Nelly. "Furthermore how does somebody come back from being deleted anyways?" Gloyd asked laughing at the girl. Ran slammed his hand down on the boy's kart, having enough of the talk. "Shut your mouth Gloyd, before I shut it for you!" Ran yelled causing the pumpkin kid to laugh again. "Oh look, Vanellope's got her crew defending her as well!" he laughed and Ran went to hit him before being held back by Red.

"They have a race to do Ran…" he said as he pulled the boy over to the sidelines. Ran felt absolutely ridiculous that he couldn't teach Gloyd a lesson, and as Red pulled him completely over to the side he pushed the guy away from him. Red stumbled back but didn't fall completely over, the boy knew Ran was upset otherwise he would've pushed back. "You stay away from me!" Ran yelled and turned to walk away from the boy, who merely sighed sounding rather annoyed but allowed the boy to be mad.

"You don't normally make friends very well, do you.." Taffyta asked and Red gave her a look, she had seen the entire event unfold and was about to intervene when Red did. "It's hard to make friends with a bunch like this.." he said and shoved his hands in his pockets. The move reminded her of Vanellope, how she used to shove her hands in her hoodie pocket, and her heart ached a little from missing her.

After this morning's incident and the news that had traveled throughout the group, Taffyta had a hard time figuring out what anyone was thinking. She wasn't sure if everyone was more upset with her, Gloyd, Red or Vanellope. She knew Ran was deeply upset with all of them except Vanellope and she knew Candlehead along with Mark were annoyed with Gloyd and Red. But as far as the rest of the racers and copies that were left they were a mix of confusion and anger towards all of them.

It had passed through the land that there was suspicion of Vanellope actually being a part of the deleting and disappearances of the Sugar Rush racers. The suspicions caused everyone to be on edge, including Taffyta. Some of the people laughed at the idea but others were quick to judge their ruler and were ready to rebel if it was found to be true.

Asides all of this drama going on with the possibility of Vanellope being behind the incidents and Gloyd being the leader of the rebellion of Sugar Rush, Taffyta's only concern was to sit down and talk to Vanellope about the situation between her and Red. She needed to explain that they were nothing more than friends and that the moment between them was a complete misunderstanding.

But that moment with Vanellope would have to wait, for the race was starting and the Princess was refusing to see her regardless. Rainbeu, Mark and Jujubes all filled in for the missing spots as the race got ready to make way. The timer ticked down to zero and as every time before they were off. The chosen player today was Gloyd, who zoomed much faster than he needed to be going and stuck his tongue out at the racers behind him.

Mark was next in line and coming up fast behind the boy along with Taffyta, the rest of the racers a ways behind. Everything was going as normal, the racers all riding along nicely with one another, when the race suddenly took a turn for the worse and something happened that the racer's all hadn't expected. A bright light appeared right in the middle of track and sparkled in front of them before sucking all the racers in. Taffyta felt as her whole body, including the kart, felt twisted and pulled and she had difficulty steering. No sooner had she been sucked in, the crew was spat out and onto a track that was surrounded by what looked to be a desert. Taffyta immediately felt the terrible heat from the sun and almost thought about stopping to take her cap and jacket off.

The desert was hotter than any hot they had ever experienced and some of the karts started to melt as they continued through the rough terrain. The land around them was filled with melting desserts ranged from ice cream, to popsicles and from brownies to cake's. The racers were all miserable as they rode through the chosen track that was very much new to them. Taffyta felt her kart become slower as the tires started to melt to the hot ground below them, if she didn't get out of this desert soon she'd be stranded or worse deleted. Luckily just as she was losing faith the sparkly light flashed before her again and the finish line was just in front of her. Gloyd crossed the line first followed by Mark and Taffyta who both came in at second.

The group stopped their karts and turned back at the flashing light to wait for the other racers. A minute went by and no one zoomed through the light. Another minute went by and then before anyone knew what hit them, a whole fifteen minutes had passed. "C'mon…" Taffyta said under her breath and clenched her fists. They had to make it, how could all the racers be deleted? When another five minutes slowly dragged on Taffyta was almost tempted to jump back into the light to fetch the racers herself when they heard the screeching of wheels and a few more of the racers came flying out of the light.

Candlehead's kart came barreling through almost hitting the other karts followed by Rainbeau and Rancis. The three looked as if they had been dropped into the sun and their karts were practically destroyed. "Geeze, next time I want a tan..I'll just drop by that place." Candlehead yelled trying to make some humor of the situation. Gloyd seemed to be the only one laughing at her comment, everyone else was too busy waiting for the remaining racers.

The group remained by the light for at least another hour before they truly started to give up hope. Among the remaining racers and copies there was Ran, Candlehead, Jubileena, Rancis, Rainbeau, Gloyd, Red, Mark, Carmella and Taffyta. The others had not returned yet and after this long hour had come and gone, they probably never would.

The usual cheer's and celebration that filled the area was filled with silence, even the candy creatures who had come to watch for that day seemed to notice the sad mood and silently walked away from the track. Gloyd was the only one sporting a smile on his face, he seemed a little too happy that he was being proven right with all the terrible events.

"It's amazing how many racers can go missing while our Princess isn't around.." he said and the group all looked up at him, their eyes worn from staring at the light that was slowly disappearing now. "I don't know about you guys, but I think it's time for a new ruler." He laughed and walked away from them, getting into his kart. Red followed behind him, not wanting to be left behind again, and sat down in the spot behind him as they drove away.

The group couldn't agree with Gloyd but they couldn't disagree as well, the events all pointed to Vanellope as she was indeed apparently back at the castle. But it also pointed to Nelly who may or may not be in the land of the living. Each racer had their own opinions and as they left that evening, the terror of today's race filled their minds.

* * *

Nelly watched as several more racers appeared before her, all zombie like. Nelly smiled as she had officially gained the upper hand with nearly thirteen of the racers. She turned to her crew and smiled at them, "You've done amazingly well…you've capture Snowana and helped me capture Minty and Minny…now see" she said pointing to the others who were lying on the ground, "See what we can accomplish now?" she roared and the group smiled.

Torvald, Nougestia, Adorabeezle, Sticky, Swizzle and even Cake were all standing in a line ready for orders from their Princess. Their eyes flared a deep red against their pale skin, each of them smiled as Nelly applauded them. "Now..all we need is the remaining racers and we can take down Vanellope and rule Sugar Rush!" she hollered and the group clapped their hands, applauding for her. Nelly was confident now, more confident than she ever was before with these racers.

Nelly smiled and turned to the group of lifeless racers that lay before her, "Now then..time to convert these fools." She said and if on cue the red and white jumpsuit phantom appeared from behind her and cackled loudly, holding his arm out and changing their once soft eyes to a dark red. Nelly smiled as their bodies turned into the mindless zombie racers that would help her control Sugar Rush, "I think it's time we went after an even stronger racer…and to do that I'll need you.." Nelly said as she turned to the phantom. He cackled, knowing exactly who she meant and turned to leave.

Nelly watched him as he exited out of the hidden entrance and stepped into the land of Sugar Rush, just outside of Diet Cola Mountain.


	15. Dressing up

Ralph shook the walls of the castle's tiny bedroom as he entered in through the tight doorway, Vanellope turned and immediately smiled at him. She had heard the giant man walking through the castle long before he entered the door, his huge feet making booming noises as he walked about. Her friend had traveled all the way from his own game to come spend time with her, since she couldn't even leave her castle. "Hey kid, how's it going.." he said and smiled at her, you could tell he was trying to be extra sensitive to her feelings. "Not bad stink brain," she laughed and looked down at the floor, trying not to sound like the situation was actually bad.

Ralph moved closer and sat down next to the girl who was sitting in a comfy looking chair next to the window, the kid looked absolutely miserable and he wished he could somehow help her escape the castle walls. But Ralph also knew by doing so he would endanger not only Sugar Rush, but also Vanellope.

"So I heard all your friends have gone missing..they find them yet?" Ralph questioned and Vanellope shook her head no. "But what about your game?" Ralph questioned again, He knew if characters had started to disappear from his own game that the owner of the arcade would unplug them. "The owner of the arcade has a soft spot for us so I'm not too worried..and everyone's pulling together to fill the missing spots …but people are starting to notice the problems and soon enough they'll stop playing us." Vanellope stated. Ralph didn't need to be reminded of what would happen after that.

"Hey don't worry kid, we'll figure it out soon enough!" he said and smiled at her although Vanellope was not so sure and showed her worry through her sad looks. Ralph moved his hand to bring her chin up to look at him, "Kid, don't you worry..your much stronger than you think you are, you'll find a way to beat this." He said, finally receiving a smile from her. Ralph always knew how to help fix any problems, he knew how to make her feel better and once upon a time ago he was the girls greatest hero. But now she wanted to be Sugar Rush's hero and save her own people from being taken over by Nelly, how she was going to do that however, Vanellope wasn't sure.

There was a small knock on the door and a Oreo guard peaked his head in, "Princess..you have a visitor.." he stated and shut the door. Vanellope turned to Ralph who was already getting up from his seat, "Princess duties huh?" he laughed and Vanellope snickered back, "Yeah..big ones.". The two erupted into laughter once more and had to calm themselves down from their laughing spell before Vanellope met with the next guest.

"Seeya kid" Ralph said and squeezed through the door. Vanellope took her seat back down at her chair by the window and called for the next guest.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Taffyta stated as she watch Ran and Candlehead search through the barrels of clothes in Ran's drawer. Vanellope had refused to see Taffyta several times since the incident between them and the boy, Red. She had offered to meet her anywhere in Sugar Rush that the girl would be comfortable meeting, she even offered to have Ran be there as they talked or Marshmallow. The girl had asked different times, settings and even situations for them to meet. All which Vanellope refused and even got the guards to deny Taffyta entrance to the castle, the girl had taken her hurt and turned it into downright stubbornness. Or at least that's what Taffyta believed.

Taffyta pleaded with Ran and Candlehead to help her out with getting Vanellope's attention, she told them her side of the story and promised on her designer racing jacket that it was the truth. At first the two were just as stubborn as Vanellope, refusing to help her and even ignoring her as they raced some days. But after much convincing Ran and Candlehead started to believe her story and forgave the girl, according to Ran they would only one hundred percent forgive her when Vanellope did.

The three put their heads together and thought of ways Taffyta could somehow see Vanellope. Ran thought it would be best if they could somehow get Vanellope to Taffyta instead of the other way around. But getting the girl outside of the castle would be very difficult and near impossible, they would have to somehow find a way for Taffyta to get inside asides the fact Vanellope had ordered everyone to keep her out.

They then sat down and devised a plan to disguise Taffyta so that the guards would allow her in, or at least allow Vanellope to talk with her. Ran believed they should dye the girl's hair a different color or dress her up in some of Candlehead's clothing to trick them into thinking it was her. But Candlehead believed that they should take the idea a step further and dress Taffyta in boy's clothing to pass her off as a new character.

"The guards are so dense!" she complained and showed them a picture of a boy Taffyta she had drawn, "All we need to do is convince them, plus dressing her in my clothes won't work…only I can pull this look off" Candlehead said smugly causing the other two to sigh.

So it was decided that Taffyta would indeed dress like a boy to sneak into the castle. The three raided Rancis' house for clothes that would help Taffyta look more boyish, or at least to the guards. Ever since the new Sugar Rush had been programmed into the game the racers and copies all had different places they had chosen to live, some chose a house that was custom made for them when the upgrade had been designed while others lived in other areas with candy creatures. Hardly any of them, even Taffyta, had lived with Vanellope in her castle although it was an option for them.

Ran had been living with Rancis in a candy village of Reese's. He had the best pick of the house and inside his room was decorated with the most fabulous designs Taffyta had ever seen. They were just picking out clothes when Taffyta reminded them what a silly idea this whole plan was.

"I know this seems ridiculous.." Ran said, "But you're the one who wanted to see Vanellope.", he moved on from the barrels to search in another section of the room. Candlehead followed him, seeing nothing interesting that she would want to see on Taffyta, "I agree and you got yourself in this situation!" she said and smiled smugly at the girl. Taffyta went to argue but after a moment of collecting her thoughts she decided to let it go, she just got her two friends back and didn't want to start a fresh battle with them.

After searching for a while, the only colors they could find were brown, dark brown, and yellow. The outfit was exactly alike Ran's and would be perfect if he wasn't the one leading the girl up to castle, "We could be twins?" Taffyta offered and Ran shook his head. "It's so obvious. Even the stupid guards will figure this out and what if Marshmallow is with them?" Ran said and Taffyta sighed, just wanting to talk to Vanellope and not deal with the drama of trying to hide behind a disguise.

"Hey…what about Mark's outfit?" Candlehead suggested but then snapped her fingers, "Or even better..someone who's not even using it right now…Swizzle!". Taffyta gave her a dirty look, "I'm not taking Swizzles clothing…that's gotta be wrong in some way!" she stammered, the boy had only been recently deleted and taking his clothes just seemed to be a bad omen. The two girls continued to argue while Ran looked deeper into the drawers. He was just about to give up when he noticed something squished at the very end of the drawer. Pulling at it, the clothes sprang free and an orange and brown outfit came popping out. "Hey.." Ran said and showed the girl's the outfit, "Why not this?"

Having the outfit chosen and the plans all set, the group hurried to the outside of the castle. Taffyta was dressed up in Gloyd's getup and her hair tucked into the cap that Ran had given her for the occasion, which he had found tucked underneath Ran's bed. It was a simple orange baseball cap that looked like a baseball player might have worn it sometime ago back in the earlier age of the arcade. For some reason Candlehead suggested that she also wear a pair of sunglasses to hide her sparkly eyes, Taffyta just didn't want to argue so she placed them over her eyes.

As they approached both Ran and Candlehead wondered why Gloyd's outfit was at Rancis', they both thought maybe the boy had stolen it from him but Taffyta knew that it was probably because the two were secretly together. She of course, didn't share that with the other two. Just before they reached the castle steps Candlehead ducked behind a bush and whispered to the two of them, "Okay…now remember don't walk like a girl now, be a man!" Candlehead coached them. Taffyta rolled her eyes and proceeded up the steps with Ran until they reached the guards.

"Hello, we've come to see Vanellope!" Ran said kindly and the guards looked at Taffyta as if they were trying to figure out her life story. "Um, who is this….boy with you..?" One of them asked and Ran acted surprised, "Oh this is my friend from another game over, he wanted to meet the Princess." He said and smiled politely at the guards. Taffyta would have to remember that Ran was a good actor and could lie to people easily if he wanted to.

The guards looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders, then opening the doors for them. The two were led all the way up to Vanellope's room without a single problem, but as the door opened up and Ralph thundered through, Taffyta had to duck her head so the giant wouldn't recognize her. The guards opened the door and allowed Taffyta to go in, she paused unsure if she was ready for this moment. Turning to Ran she gave him a sad look which he returned with a smile, "You've got this..I promise!" he beamed and the girl took a deep breath before walking in.

* * *

Vanellope watched as her guest walked into the room, at first she was confused thinking it was Gloyd but the lighter hair scheme threw her off. Next she thought it was Rancis in Gloyd's outfit but when the guy closed the door and turned to face her she realized who it was and her heart dropped onto the floor.

"You had to go so far as to disguise yourself..?" Vanellope asked and turned away from the girl, looking out the window. Taffyta took off the glasses and the cap, placing them on the floor. Given any other situation Vanellope would have found this attempt endearing and even might find the girl dressed up in boys clothes to be absolutely adorable. But she had to remember why she was mad; she had to remember that the girl had made her choice. She had chosen Red.

"Your ridiculous guards are what made me have to go this far, your ridiculousness made me." Taffyta said sternly taking a step towards the girl. Vanellope didn't move and she pretended like she didn't care as she continued to watch the world outside of her window. "Vanellope, you don't understand and you never will until you listen to me!" Taffyta yelled, the guards outside the door shuffled their feet and Taffyta remembered they could still come in if they felt the Princess was in danger.

"Vanellope, please.." Taffyta begged and the girl turned to look at the cross-dresser. Taffyta's eyes looked worn and you could tell she had been crying, Vanellope had to fight the urge to rush over to her and kiss away every tear that fell down the girl's perfect face. "Please, enlighten me." Vanellope stated coldly and Taffyta breathed in, feeling glad she had gotten at least this far.

Taffyta explained the entire situation, from the moment Red and her first talked till recently at the race. Vanellope seemed surprised by the news of the other racers being deleted but didn't let it be shown on her face for very long. Taffyta explained everything down to the fine details, everything except Red being Psychic. When she finished her face was red from all the talking she had done and left the room silent for Vanellope to answer.

Vanellope was feeling torn, the girl had obviously done a wonderful job of explaining herself and it left Vanellope on both sides of the track. Given the story she was handed, she could see how it could all have been a misunderstanding and inside the girl wanted to be the forgiving and accepting Vanellope that she always had been. But the situation had hurt her so much and caused her to feel so terrible, that she wasn't completely over it yet.

The pink racer could tell she was conflicted, "I understand if you don't want to answer now Vanellope, I just needed to get it out to you, I needed you to know the truth…I understand that I hurt you, I didn't mean to and I.." she paused trying not to cry, "I will try my very hardest to fix things..". The mood in the room grew heavier and heavier as Taffyta continued to talk, Vanellope just wanted to get up and hug or kiss the girl. Doing so would so easily fix the pain that was plaguing them.

When the room continued to be silent Taffyta turned to leave realizing the girl had heard a lot that day and she needed space to think it all properly through. She slowly opened the door and turned to Vanellope, Vanellope herself stood up to properly say goodbye to the girl when her whole world slowed. Behind Taffyta was a ghoul, a phantom, a red and white suit being that flashed his yellow eyes at Vanellope.

"Stay sweet Vanellope." Taffyta said, obviously not seeing the thing behind her just yet, but as she turned her face went from sadness to absolute horror. The being let out a loud cackle and Taffyta screamed. Vanellope made a mad dash for Taffyta trying to grab her before this being did. But everything was in slow motion; he was going to reach her first.

"IT'S TURBO TIME!" Turbo screamed and the walls shook with his fury to let the whole land know. Turbo was back in Sugar Rush.


	16. All in your mind

A large sparkly light shot out and flowed at the entrance of Diet Cola Mountain, it hummed and twisted in the dark of the night illuminating the surrounding area for a few seconds. Nelly, the evil Princess, took a single step out of the light and observed the area. The land was quiet and hardly noticed the threat that was upon them as she took another step or two out of the light, allowing her comrades to exit the light as well.

"Ah Sugar Rush.." Nelly sighed and smiled remembering her former ruling days. Torvald, Nougestia, Adorabeezle and all the other racers came out one by one through the light as she watched the area for any lingering eyes. They all eyed the place as if they had never seen it before, the shock to their brain and the turning of their souls must have deleted the memories of their time here. As the last racer left the light, the white and red jumpsuit being stepped out and the ground cracked as he touched it.

Nelly turned to smile at the creature that seemed to be taking in the scene, "Do you remember your time here?" she asked and he nodded, hissing as the terrible memories filled him. Nelly laughed and turned to the others, "We will be hiding out here..when we capture more racer's you will need to take them to the summit of Diet Cola Mountain, understand me?" she commanded and the racers all nodded. Nelly knew no one would come looking here, especially after she and Taffyta copy had fallen to their doom here.

Nelly's body shaked with excitement, soon she would have Sugar Rush again and soon she would finally get her revenge on Vanellope for taking away everything she had worked so hard on. The candy citizens confinements, control of the racers, even Taffyta's heart was all taken from her as she was left to being deleted. She would make sure not to show any mercy to the girl when it finally came down to it.

The creature seemed to notice the girls eagerness and hissed something to her, to the regular human ear's it was completely inaudible. "Taffyta should be here..somewhere among the remaining racers." She stated to him and turned towards the castle in the distance, "It shouldn't be too hard to find her, but you should check the castle first..it'll be a nice distraction too as we continue to move." She said and smiled, "Plus taking over Sugar Rush won't be as sweet until I have her in my control."

The being nodded and turned towards the castle, the sun was rising over the horizon and soon enough the group would have to find shelter inside the Mountain if they wanted to remain hidden. Nelly ordered the team inside and they followed through without any complaints. Nelly turned to leave but glanced back at the creature just before she did, "Don't be afraid to get your hands a little dirty, I'm sure Vanellope won't let this one go without a fight."

* * *

Taffyta couldn't move. Fear had struck her down all the way to her core and frozen her right there at the door as Turbo was about to grab ahold of her. She could hear Vanellope's voice calling out her name but the girl couldn't process moving or dodging out of the way. All she could think about was why?

Why was Turbo here? Wasn't he deleted a long time ago thanks to Ralph? It didn't make any sense as to why he was here or how he was able to get back to Sugar Rush and Taffyta was running out of time before he completely had ahold of her. She remembers flinching and holding her hands out in front of her in a failed attempt to block the evil being but as far as the girl was concerned, she was doomed.

Just as Turbo's hand was a hair's length away from grabbing onto Taffyta, someone slammed into him and knocked him completely over. A loud hissing noise erupted and Taffyta felt Vanellope slam into her and knock her over to the side as well. The girls tumbled past the door and out into the hallway where they were met with a gruesome scene. Several guards were lying on the floor, glitching in and out, then eventually deleting completely. The hallway was a complete mess where you could tell Turbo had put the group into quite a battle. How Vanellope and Taffyta had not heard it was beyond them.

When both girls were able to stand up and look at who their rescuer was, they were both surprised to see Red trying to hold Turbo down. "Go, get out of here!" he yelled just as Turbo flung him to the wall. Red yelped loudly as he did, slamming to the ground, but quickly jumped up again at the being. Vanellope wasted no time in grabbing Taffyta's hand and making a break for it.

"Emergency number eighty six!" Vanellope screamed as she busted through the doors and into the throne room, she wasn't sure who she was screaming at but she knew the guards and the other Castle residents would understand the emergency number. As if the girl's words were laced with magic, guards shot out from all corners of the castle, including Marshmallow and Sour Bill.

"Turbo is here?" Sour Bill cried and joined the girls at their sides. Vanellope nodded, still clutching Taffyta's hand, and pointed with her free hand at the door she had just escaped through. Immediately all the guards rushed towards it and down the hallway along with Marshmallow, ready to fight for Sugar Rush. Sour Bill rushed up to the throne and opened it at its side, hitting a small red button.

As soon as the button was pressed a loud beeping noise erupted throughout the kingdom. Vanellope and Taffyta had to plug their ears for the sound was harsh and hurt them. "Our game is closing its entrance doors…we have to protect the arcade from Turbo." Sour Bill yelled over the sound to the girls. Vanellope understood completely, remembering the drills that they had practice several times a day lately. The entrance to Sugar Rush was supposed to be locked tight with a giant metal like door, in hopes to keep the evil being in and away from the rest of the arcade. Asides from that a message would be sent to all the other games about Turbo's return.

"Now what?" Taffyta asked, yelling as she did. The sound was growing less intense and they were able to put their hands down. The alarm was only supposed to alert the characters of their game, or alarm them of something in this land. Sour Bill looked at the two girls, "Now we need to get you two out of the castle if this is where.." he paused as he saw a few Guards come walking out of the doors, which he had sent them in.

They didn't look like they had been through battle nor had they looked to be frightened in any way. At this point the alarm had stopped and several of the racers from Sugar Rush had arrived at the castle along with candy citizens too. "Why aren't you protecting the Princess!" Sour Bill hollered and the guards flinched, not sure what to say. Vanellope took a step forward and asked, "Did you find Red?"

The guards looked at each other and then back at their Princess. "Miss…Turbo was nowhere to be seen…in fact.." they paused, "The only thing we found was Red, and he was in bad shape.." they said and Vanellope felt as if she was being pranked or something. Sour Bill looked at her, then at Taffyta. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked and Vanellope shook her head.

"I saw Turbo though..he was there, he was going to hurt Taffyta before Red came.." Vanellope stammered and put a hand to her head, wiping the sweat off her face. Taffyta looked no better, looking pale and questioning herself about the event as well. The characters of Sugar Rush could be seen murmuring back and forth to each other and pointing at the Vanellope as if she was crazy and discussing why Taffyta was dressed up in boys clothing.

Vanellope left them in the throne room to see for herself, followed by Taffyta, Sour Bill stayed behind to control the angry crowd who wondered why their Princess had acted so foolishly. Vanellope stopped dead in her tracks as she found the hallway, completely normal and put back together as if Turbo had never walked into the place. The only thing that had stayed the same from Turbo's assault was Red, who was glitching out of control on the floor as Marshmallow tried to wrap up his cuts and bruises.

"Hang in there, Red!" Marshmallow said and he looked up at Vanellope as she entered the hallway and walked over to them. The whole group was silent, unsure what to make of the situation. Red was severely hurt, Taffyta and Vanellope had looked like they had seen a ghost, and there were a few missing Oreo guards. To anyone watching this scene, it looked to be true that Turbo had attacked. But on the other hand it also looked as if anyone could have done this frightful scene.

"Vanellope, the people will want to know what happened…the whole arcade will want to know what went wrong." Marshmallow stated, sounding frightened of the events that were coming to them. Red grunted in pain, and Marshmallow laid a hand on the boys head. Vanellope nodded, understanding the intensity and the problems of the situation. "Then tell them exactly what has happened…it's the truth!" she demanded, Taffyta walked up behind the girl, nodding in agreement, and went to hold the girls hand. Marshmallow looked as if he wanted to question Taffyta and her choice of outfits that day, but shook his head and proceeded on with his prior thought.

"How can I explain to them this situation Vanellope?" Marshmallow asked and stood up to emphasize his point, "There are no traces of him anywhere?" he yelled and Vanellope furrowed her brow. "Then go off my word, Taffyta's and even Red's!" she hollered back. "Vanellope how can I go off your word, you've been…" Marshmallow paused and the girl gave him a hurt look, realizing what he was going to say. The room became eerily silent and Vanellope squeezed Taffyta's hand tightly. "You don't believe me.." Vanellope said and Marshmallow went to open his mouth but closed it again, looking at the ground.

"Vanellope.." Sour Bill walked into the room then, interrupting the argument. Vanellope turned away from her friend Marshmallow, wondering if they were even that now, and nodded to Sour Bill for him to continue. "We've counted the racers….your friend Ran is gone." Bill explained sadly, trying to be gentle with the girl.

Vanellope started to breathe heavily. Not her friend Ran, he couldn't be gone? "Recount them…" Vanellope said, sounding as if she was about to cry. Sour Bill opened his mouth to argue but Vanellope slammed her foot down, "Recount them, he has to be here somewhere!" she yelled, she was visibly shaking. Ran was one of the very few racers who stood up for her regardless of what she had done; he was an honest true friend that supported Vanellope and Taffyta's relationship from the very start. He couldn't be gone, not when she needed him.

Vanellope took a step forward, going to count the racers herself when she suddenly started to feel dizzy and her world was turning black. "Vanellope!" Sour Bill called and Taffyta went to hold her up along with Marshmallow. Vanellope's eyes closed and she completely passed out.

* * *

Turbo jumped out of the light and landed on top of Diet Cola Mountain, Nelly clapped for him as he turned to greet her. "Well done…it seems you had fun at the castle" she teased and turned to the other deleted racers. The whole group was now up atop the Diet Cola Mountain. They had completely moved themselves as well as the other equipment, such as their karts, while Turbo was off causing chaos at the castle. The mission had two objectives, to one get Taffyta as a part of the deleted crew and to cause a distraction while Nelly transferred them to the top of Diet Cola Mountain successfully. The racers were all busy doing something when Turbo had arrived; some were watching guard while others were turning the newly deleted characters of Sugar Rush into mindless zombies.

Nelly however was busy trying to convert the most recent deleted racer, Ran, into one of her minions when Turbo arrived to survey his work. Turbo had failed to get Taffyta, who was the main racer they were looking for, not Ran or any of the guards. But Nelly was happy with the creatures work and smiled evilly at him, "You gave me one that's really going to need some work…" she laughed and Turbo walked over with her to see Ran wincing on the ground.

The boy had been deleted a few minutes ago by Turbo, he was in the hallway waiting for Taffyta just as Turbo appeared out of the blue and attacked them all. Ran felt completely useless as he couldn't even hold off Turbo for a second before the dark creature threw him against the wall and deleted him instantly. Ran was immediately transported to Nelly atop the Mountain along with the guards, who she converted easily. Ran however fought the transformation as hard as he could, he was growing weaker but he still was not entirely on the side of evil yet.

"I've tried a few times..he just won't change.." Nelly smiled and Turbo looked down upon the boy as if he wanted to snuff out his existence right then and there. Ran glared back at the two, unwilling to give up fighting yet. "Vanellope will find you and save Sugar Rush again Nelly, you won't be able to stop her!" he yelled and Nelly's face turned into a scowl. "This one has too much faith in a failing Princess.." she barked and Ran flinched a little, "Maybe it doesn't have to be the amount of evil I need to throw into you…but the right person to do it?" she smiled and glanced at Turbo who smiled evilly as well.

Just then Snowana appeared behind the two, her eyes bright red and looking as if she hadn't slept for days. Ran froze, feeling a mix of sadness and joy for the girl. He had missed her so much and wanted to see her for days now, unfortunately this reunion was only because she had allowed the darkness to fill and change her. Now she expected the same out of him.

"Snowana.." Ran said softly before shrieking in pain, the girl had lifted her hand above him and shocked him as she tried converting him to the side of darkness. "Come now..don't you want to be with her Ran?" Nelly laughed and tears could visibly be seen down the boy's face. "She has missed you so much, join my team and you can be with her again." Nelly promised and Ran almost gave in.

"Never!" he screamed, which surprised both of Nelly and Turbo at his unwillingness. She eyed Turbo who nodded his head slowly and raised his hand over the boy's body. Nelly raised her hand over Ran's as well and snickered, "You've caused me to do this Ran, here comes the triple threat.." Nelly said as both her, Turbo's and Snowana's hands shot electricity through the boy's body. His screams could be heard loud over the top of the Mountain and Nelly worried she would be found if he wasn't silenced soon. After another minute of the converting Nelly sighed and lowered her hands, "Enough..we will try again later.." she demanded and the other two stopped.

Ran lay there on the ground, his body sore and electrified from the beating he had just taken from the electric evil currents. He could feel himself weakening as he started to pass out, he looked over to his friends who had all been converted and could only pray Vanellope would be there soon.


	17. Into the future

Explaining to the racers of Sugar Rush about the false alarm was tough; explaining it to the entire arcade that had been on lock down and caused several characters to panic was incredibly difficult. The game Sugar Rush was officially the laughing stock of the arcade for the next couple of days. Often whenever racers, candy citizens, or even castle residents left the game to hang out in the lobby or visit other game friends, they were either teased or bullied back into their own game.

The teasing put the people of Sugar Rush into a terrible mood and soon Vanellope had angered a lot of them. As if to make matters worse Gloyd had actually convinced the most to almost all of racers to not listen to Vanellope anymore, saying she was nutty and had lost her mind since taking the throne. Out of the racers, Candlehead, Mark, and Taffyta had chosen not to believe the pumpkin boy but every other racer easily turned on her.

Red had no say in the matter since he was confined in the guest room due to his injuries and had no idea of the damage his other half was doing. The castle residents had made sure not to let him know too much for fear he would try and act when he wasn't completely healed.

In other terrible news, their game had a completely messed up roster when it came to racing. Ran was too ill to race, Vanellope wasn't allowed to race and some of the racers refused to race for fear they might be attacked on the track like Candlehead's copy or like Minty. The alarm would go off day after day and a few of the brave racers such as Taffyta or Mark would get ready to race. The low rosters would confuse the children playing the game but altogether they would still play thinking it was just a glitch. Eventually Vanellope knew that wouldn't slide with them.

"Red's awake today.." Sour Bill notified Vanellope as she was fixing her hair that morning after a particularly dreadful night of bad dreams, another one of seeing her and Taffyta's copy. Vanellope turned to him and nodded her head, "Thank you..I am going to go visit him soon." She stated and returned to the mirror. Sour Bill waited for anything else Vanellope wanted to say and turned to leave, closing the door behind him.

There had been much tension between Vanellope and most of the castle staff, Marshmallow especially. Ever since the incident Vanellope had acted short with them, knowing they didn't believe her about the event. The castle residents wanted to believe Vanellope but because of the Turbo event, her insane night terrors, and the fact she had been acting so off lately it was almost too much for them to believe.

Marshmallow had attempted a few times to talk to the girl, but the awkwardness and short words between the two had caused them to talk less and less as the days passed on. Vanellope wasn't sure what to do about any of this. She wanted to simply find Nelly and Turbo and put a stop to them, but how? How could she simply defeat them when before it had taken others to do it for her. Not to mention they possibly had tons of backup now that could easily overcome her few racers and Oreo guards. The threat of Turbo was something she hadn't even take into consideration, the whole time she was so focused on Nelly and taking her down. Now she had to deal with both of them and their threats to Sugar Rush.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Vanellope left her room to go to the guest bedroom where Red was staying. She needed to find out what he knew about Turbo when he fought him, if there was anything. As she walked she heard a voice call out to her from down the hallway, "Vanellope, wait up!" Taffyta said as she jogged over to her. Vanellope smiled weakly at the girl and waited for her to catch up.

"Where are you going?" Taffyta asked as she grabbed the girls hand and squeezed it tightly, Vanellope turned to face down the hall and then back at the girl. "I'm going to see Red, to see if he knows anything about the other day.." she stated and squeezed the girls hand as well. A part of Vanellope was still hurt by Taffyta's actions so many days ago with Red, but she had forgiven the girl and had a respect for Red for saving their lives. She would have to put her personal feelings behind her for the sake of Sugar Rush.

The two of them walked the rest of the way down the hallway until they reached the guest room, Taffyta remembered how she had stayed in this very guest room when she was living there as a guest to Nelly. Vanellope tapped on the door and waited for it to open. An Oreo guard peeked open the door, looked the two of them over, then opened it for them to completely walk in. As they did Red sat up, on edge and looking a little frightened until he noticed it was the two girls and lay back down.

His red apple hat was sitting on the table next to his bed along with his red and green jacket. The boy looked weak but a heck of a lot better than a few days ago when he was being deleted. Taffyta smiled at him and he smiled back holding up his wrist and showing her the bracelet she had made him. Vanellope looked as well, confused at the significance of it until Red explained.

"Princess..I should have explained this to you a long time ago, but I was frightened and I didn't want the kingdom to exploit my powers.." he started off and Vanellope went to sit down at the edge of his bed, Taffyta went to sit over to the side of the room in a chair. "I have the power to see the future…bits and pieces of it, sometimes I can even change the future.." he finally admitted and Vanellope raised an eyebrow at him, she had been rather curious if any of the other racers were able to have powers like Taffyta and Nelly along with her and Taffyta's copy.

"I asked Taffyta to make this for me, it's a piece of her, and typically when I wear an item of somebody's for a while I will start to only get future visions about them.." he said and Vanellope turned to look at Taffyta who was realizing why he had asked the favor a long time ago. "I saw in my vision that Taffyta was being attacked by Turbo..I went to find her and found he was attacking both of you in the castle…, that is how I was able to get to Turbo in time before he abducted Taffyta." He explained and Vanellope smiled at him, "Thank you for that by the way.." she said and Red nodded, feeling shy.

"It was also how I was able to see you drowning in the Soda sea a few weeks back, I had a vision about it and ran to find you..I was worried I was too late honestly." He commented, "But what I want to tell you now has nothing to do with those events…I had a terrible vision about Nelly and the future of Sugar Rush, I need.." he paused and lifted himself up from the bed, "I can show you if you move closer.." he stated and Vanellope nodded.

Vanellope got up and moved closer to Red so that she was sitting literally right next to him. The boy was weak but he was able to pull Vanellope's head closer to his own so that their forehead's were touching. Taffyta blushed a little frustrated that the boy was so close to her girlfriends face, but realized it was for the future of Sugar Rush and nothing personal. After the boy had done the same to her, she had no room to complain. Vanellope tried not to breathe heavily as the boy's face was terribly close to her own and he closed his eyes. "Now Princess..this may hurt a little.." he stated and Vanellope's eyes were filled with the vision.

* * *

Vanellope's eyes were cloudy at first, unable to make out the scene through the smoke and dust that filled the air. She could feel intense heat coming from all around her; she could feel it burning her skin and clothes as she stood up to walk around. It didn't take her long to realize where she was located at, the top of Diet Cola Mountain, the base of all her nightmares.

Turning she saw the tyrant, Nelly, standing at the very center of the Mountain just before it sunk down into the hot Cola below. She was staring at someone far below and laughing evilly at them, while someone joined her at her side. Vanellope stumbled closer, trying to see who it was she was looking down at, her fear being very visible. When Vanellope summoned the courage to peak over the side, she was met with a mirror image of herself.

"You will never win Nelly!" she saw herself scream and the tyrant laughed, if Vanellope knew this wasn't a vision she probably would have attacked the girl then and there. "I already have won Vanellope Von Schweetz…" she cackled and Vanellope caught eyes with the girl standing next to her, her eyes bright red and skin pale. Taffyta laughed evilly next to the evil Princess as they watched Vanellope slowly sink and then fall completely into the flames below.

* * *

Vanellope's eyes fluttered open and she nearly gasped as she met eyes with Red, she was back away from the terrible vision and in the room. She leaned back and cleared her throat, feeling a little awkward after being so close to the boy. Taffyta cleared her throat as well and stood to join the girl next to Red, the two had been seeing the vision while Taffyta sat waiting quietly on the other side of the room. It had only lasted a few minutes, but the minutes seemed to drag on when Taffyta wasn't able to be a part of the event.

"I've been seeing this vision often.." Red said through heavy breaths. The boy seemed to have trouble breathing after the vision and you could visibly see sweat dripping off his chin. Vanellope wiped at her forehead and saw that she too was sweating, "I have seen it as well.." she commented and the boy looked surprised. The room fell quiet, waiting for Vanellope to explain, and the girl took a heavy sigh. "I've been having nightmares at night over the same event for months actually…I didn't know it was a vision into my future though?" she asked out loud. Taffyta laid a hand on her shoulder then, having heard of the girl's nightmares for the first time and feeling terribly guilty for not being there for Vanellope. The teal Princess smiled and held her hand on top of the girls.

"It doesn't make sense.." Red stated and the two girls looked at him as he lay back down completely on his bed, sighing from the pain. "How..are you able to just have a vision as you sleep, when my requires an intense amount of energy and.." he trailed off collecting his thoughts, "I just can't simply have them.." he explained and Vanellope nodded, trying to understand. "I don't want these visions…I believed they were a nightmare until just a few moments ago Red, I am just as clueless as you are." She stated and Red nodded, looking up at the ceiling. You could tell he looked a little upset that Vanellope was able to simply just have a vision as she slept while he had to work for his. But he shook his head and tried hard to move on from the fact. "Well…it's not just a nightmare, its what's going to happen if Nelly isn't stopped soon." He said and Vanellope nodded, she wasn't even sure how she was going to prevent the future from happening but she knew she was going to have to figure a way out soon.

The girls left Red to rest, since the visions tired him out, and went back to Vanellope's room. They had received a lot of information that day, all which they weren't even sure what to do with. "I think when Red gets better we should use him to track down who Nelly is going after next.." Taffyta said suddenly as the two sat there on Vanellope's bed. Vanellope nodded, obviously thinking hard about the matter, "But would that be alright with Red?" Vanellope asked and Taffyta shrugged her shoulders, "Why wouldn't it be..?" she questioned.

Vanellope laid back on her bed and sighed, trying to think, "Because he didn't want us to use him..he said specifically that he was used by Nelly countless of times and if we do the same..we're no better than her." Vanellope said causing Taffyta to shrug her shoulders again, "I don't see how we're alike her, we are trying to save Sugar Rush and she.." Taffyta said but was interrupted by Vanellope, "She was trying to do the same..only for her own reasons..". Taffyta thought long and hard about that fact, it was true that Nelly had thought that the candy citizens were ruining Sugar Rush, that by attacking Vanellope and sending her away that she was actually saving the land. She hated to admit it but they were going to be like the evil girl if they did this to Red.

"Fine…but how are we going to stop her than?" Taffyta asked, lying down next to Vanellope and looking at her straight in the eyes. Vanellope seemed lost and unsure how to answer, "I'm unsure if we even can Taffyta.." Vanellope said after the two were silent for some time. Taffyta reached for the girl's hand, squeezing it and smiling softly at her. "I think we can, we just have to think..somehow we have to get rid of Nelly for good…delete her or something.." Taffyta stated and the idea shook Vanellope to the core. How do they delete something that's already been deleted?


	18. The kart controls you

Red watched as the strange being took a step into the room, the floor around him cracking and twisting under its feet. It was obvious who the character was, Red had heard stories from Gloyd and the other racers about this shame of a racer and how he had taken over Sugar Rush. Not to mention he also just dueled with this evil being only a day or so ago and it seemed he was back to finish the poor racer off. Still Red did nothing as he inched closer and closer to the boy, hissing and cackling as he did.

"Have you come to take me away?" Red asked, glaring at the being in disgust. The being let out a loud scream and jumped right next to Red, looking deep into his eyes. Although Red knew the creature should have eyes where his helmet was placed, still he couldn't stare directly into them as if some unseen force prevented him from doing so. The creature grabbed onto Red, causing him to glitch uncontrollably. Red clenched his jaw and fought the urge to scream as he could feel himself being pulled away from existence and into the darkness of being deleted.

The being seemed to enjoy having to fight the boy as he tried not to be turned and corrupted. "ITS TURBO TIME!" the being yelled right into Red's face, causing the boy to flinch and completely glitch out of existence. Before the boy did though a small whisper escaped his lips and caused the being to shutter, "I'm not afraid of you."

* * *

Vanellope stood at the bedside where Red had been sleeping only yesterday. This morning the castle crew had found his bed empty and the room completely destroyed, a window had been broken into and they believed that Nelly or perhaps Turbo had come in the middle of the night to take him. Upon calling the racers to the castle later that morning the group found that Red was not the only one missing.

Jubileena, Carmella and Rainbeu had also been deleted and was now possibly a part of Nelly's army. All that was left was Taffyta, Vanellope, Rancis, Candlehead, Mark, and Gloyd. Six racers remained out of the giant group from before; they were out of options. They were six racers away from being completely taken over, six racers away from having Nelly in control.

Of the six racers, Vanellope knew that Gloyd and Rancis didn't believe her about the disapearances and how Turbo was back in Sugar Rush along with Nelly. Along with those two, half the arcade was questioning the young Princess and worried for the game Sugar Rush. It seemed that time and hope was really running out for their game, Vanellope needed to devise a plan before it was all too late. She was thinking deeply on the matter an alarm went off, alerting them of another race. Vanellope knew she wasn't allowed to race but with only five racers left, and some possibly not racing, she knew she had to get to the track immediately.

Rushing down the castle stairs and into the main hallway leading to the entrance of the castle, Vanellope heard multiple guards and possibly even Marshmallow cry out to her as she did. "Vanellope, no!" Marshmallow hollered as he chased after her, he was the only one managing to keep up with the girl. "You mustn't race Vanellope, you could crash and get deleted!" he stammered and nearly tripped as they burst through the door.

Vanellope looked back and forth for her kart, which was typically placed right in front of the castle, but couldn't find it anywhere. She turned towards Marshmallow and went to ask the small creature about her missing kart, pointing to the empty space that filled the spot where it used to be. Before Vanellope could get a single word out, Marshmallow coughed out "We took your kart to the castle storage…you caused us no choice..". Vanellope stomped her foot and gave him a dirty glare, "Are you crazy…there is a race and we have no racers, I need to try Marsh!" Vanellope yelled, this was their first conversation since the last argument they had. Vanellope mentally kicked herself for this moment, she didn't want their first time talking again to be an argument.

"I need a kart, now!" she demanded, hitting her foot to the ground once more. Suddenly a sparkly white light appeared before her, blinding her as well as Marshmallow and the other guards. When the light disappeared, a red and white kart appeared before the group, revving its engine for the girl to hop in. Vanellope recalled the kart, the one that had aided her and Taffyta on their trip through the broken Sugar Rush. Was this also the kart that helped Nelly kidnap the other racers as well? It was in the description and Vanellope wouldn't put it past the girl to steal the magical engine. Vanellope had no time to think about the right and wrongs of the situation and climbed in, hitting the gas. Marshmallow just managed to jump in as the kart sped off.

"Vanellope stop!" Marshmallow screamed as they seemed to be going faster than they ever had before, Vanellope clutched the steering wheel and focused on the road as it zoomed in front of her. The kart seemed different, felt different and she twitched as she could feel the power of the vehicle flow through her.

The race was just about to start and to her surprise every single racer was there, pulling together to keep their game alive. Three…two…one…the timer beeped off just as Vanellope pulled into line, the racers were off. Some seemed frightened as Vanellope zoomed past them at an almost inhuman speed and caught up with the first racer who was the gamer's choice, Candlehead. The race was going smoothly, Vanellope just behind Candlehead, and the race track was uneventful until Candlehead started to gain some speed before Vanellope.

Vanellope's eyes started to glow red and she felt angry, "I won't let you beat me.." she growled and watched as the wheel jerked right and slammed into Candlehead's kart. "What are you crazy!" Marshmallow screamed, "Stop that!". The little treat looked at Vanellope and gasped in horror as the girl looked frightfully possessed and her eyes shone a deep dark red. "I can't let her win!" she said though the voice didn't sound like Vanellope's.

The other racer's watched in horror as Vanellope continued to try and crash Candlehead's kart or push her off the road completely. Candlehead screamed and tried to avoid the girl, confused and frightened, as she continued to pound into her vehicle. As the racetrack curved for the last time and the racers made their way to the finish, Vanellope's kart moved out for one last hit. One that was going to be the final hit for Candlehead, "Goodbye Candlehead." Vanellope laughed and swerved to hit the girl, hard.

Just before the karts collided, Taffyta's kart shot ahead and smacked into Vanellope's causing both girls to fly off in the opposite direction off of the track. Vanellope's world tumbled and tossed as she tried to regain control of the kart. It bounced a few times, banging and crashing as it did, and then silenced as it came to a stop. Marshmallow peeked up from his seat to find the kart steaming, the road before them in shambles and Vanellope sitting there motionless, her head down on the steering wheel.

"Vanellope!" he cried and shook her, praying she was still alive. The girl remained motionless for a second and then snapped awake, coughing hard and going to unbuckle herself. The girl's eyes had returned to normal and she didn't look as if she was dying to win anymore, Marshmallow smiled and hugged the girl tightly. "What happened…?" Vanellope asked, rubbing her head as the two jumped out of the kart. Surprisingly the kart was still absolutely perfect. It shook and a sparkly light appeared around it and then it disappeared again to aid another racer.

"Vanellope, I told you not to ride in that kart…and you completely ignored me and rode in it anyways!" Marshmallow screamed and he looked like he wanted to cry, "Do you have any idea what just happened!" the candy asked and Vanellope shook her head. She remembers getting into the kart and driving fast to the racetrack, but after that it all became a blur. "Vanellope…the kart controlled you!" Marshmallow said trying to explain to her the best he could.

Vanellope looked at Marshmallow wide eyed than at the space where the kart used to be and back to Marshmallow, "How can it control me, I'm the one driving it?" she stammered, obviously trying to act as if the events hadn't just happened. Marshmallow stamped his foot and pointed back at the track, "Vanellope I'm serious, the kart made you completely crazy, you nearly deleted Candlehead and.." the Marshmallow paused, causing Vanellope to give him an odd look. "Candlehead and..?" she questioned but the Marshmallow refused to speak and his face looked grave.

Vanellope looked behind him at the wreckage and the off road skid marks they had made crashing off of the track. Nothing seemed too bent out of shape until her eyes followed a path of broken wheels, and kart pieces until she finally laid her eyes upon a huge pile of cracked and twisted candy pieces all in a huge lump that was once Taffyta's kart.

"TAFFYTA!" Vanellope screamed and ran over to the mess, immediately digging through it. She couldn't find Taffyta nor any trace of her. Typically if a racer would have crashed or had their kart destroyed, both would regenerate. But in this case Vanellope knew neither would regenerate because of the dark business going on with Turbo and Nelly. Still she continued to search, even when she had completely torn apart every last piece the girl continued to rip and tear the vehicle apart looking for the pink racer.

Marshmallow walked up behind Vanellope, laying a hand on her shoulder. Vanellope flinched and looked behind her, hoping it was Taffyta, but was almost ashamed to see Marshmallow standing there instead of the girl. Marshmallow shot Vanellope a sympathetic look and shook his head, "Vanellope.." he said calmly and searched for the right words to say. Vanellope's eyes started to water and she shook her head at the treat, "No..don't tell me.." she cried. Marshmallow closed his mouth, taking the command from the girl but still rubbing her arm as she cried and glitched uncontrollably. It pained both Vanellope and Marshmallow to realize their friend was now gone, possibly to be a part of Nelly's crew.

* * *

Nelly watched, unbelieving at first, as the kart reappeared before her and her comrades. She could believe that the kart was back but the racer inside was almost too good to be true. She took a few steps closer, not wanting this dream to end, and slowly ran her eyes over the body that was in front of her. Taffyta laid there in the red and white kart, knocked out, and completely vulnerable for corrupting.

"Heh..we didn't even need to take her away from the stupid glitch.." Nelly said out loud and the others laughed their horrible cackling laughs. "It seems she does a fine job messing up on her own!" Nelly shouted and turned back towards Taffyta. Just before she could lay a hand on the girl, corrupting her through her electric shock, Taffyta's eyes sprang open and she quickly started to crawl out of the kart, hitting the floor, completely dazed with the situation.

Nelly flinched as she did, surprised the girl had awaken so fast, but smiled at the girl. "Hello Taffyta, welcome to the deleted graveyard crew…" Nelly spoke and Taffyta eyed the girl, trying to take in all what was happening. Nelly slowly walked around the kart towards the girl on the other side, "I've been trying to get you here..for a while now love." She laughed and Taffyta felt paralyzed. She wasn't sure how she was deleted, why she was, or what she was going to do now that she was in Nelly's possession.

Nelly continued her walk around the kart, taking long steps as she did, and approached Taffyta so that the two were just a hair's length apart. "Don't worry Taffyta…this won't hurt.." Nelly said as she raised her hand above the girl, ready to strike her with her electric hand.

"MOVE IDIOT!" Red screamed causing both Nelly and Taffyta to look at the boy, who was chained up against the wall. Taffyta took this distraction from Nelly and booked it in the opposite direction. Upon doing so she realized she was on the very top of Diet Cola Mountain, the Diet Cola was spewing just as it normally did in the center and she nearly slipped off and down the sides as she made her escape.

"GET HER!" Nelly commanded and Taffyta was met with several of the racers who she believed were deleted. Snowana was the first to lunge at her, which she luckily dodged, but was knocked down when Sticky grabbed her leg. The girl tumbled and she felt her hat fly off her head, flopping down in front of her. Taffyta turned seeing Sticky had fallen as well in her attempts to capture Taffyta, but was still holding onto the girl's leg. Taffyta whispered an apology and then kicked the girl in the face, who let out a giant scream. Sticky clutched her face as Taffyta got up and darted towards the exit.

Just as she was about to reach the door, Turbo suddenly appeared before her and grabbed the girl by the arms. He wasted no time with words and completely shocked her. Taffyta let out a scream and felt herself being consumed by the racers darkness. Nelly and the other racers circled the girl and watched as she was overcome. "You're not strong enough to fight the darkness Taffyta…don't be like your silly friend over there, join us." She smiled and Taffyta felt her will giving in.

"Taffyta fight it!" Red yelled, he too had faced the shocking and the possible corruptions of the group. Only hours before he had come to this Mountain top, Turbo had deleted him here late last night at the castle, and he had watched as Ran completely was taken over and Nelly continued to plot against the others. They had shocked him, ridiculed him, and even promised him luxuries upon luxuries if he joined them. But he was determined that he wasn't going to change, along with Taffyta as well. "You have to fight it Taffyta, Vanellope needs you!" he cried, Nelly turned towards him and scowled. "Shut it, boy!" she hollered at him and snapped her fingers, immediately Crumbelina and Carmella went to go assist the boy in remaining quiet.

Red braced himself, if he had been shocked once he had been shocked a million times already. He wouldn't allow his heart to change for them, "Taffyta, keep going!" he yelled out one final time before being shocked again and again by the two girls. Taffyta was fading in and out; having the hardest time staying on the side she knew was good. She thought about Marshmallow and Sour Bill, about the remaining racers, the candy citizens, she even thought about the other arcade games. She mostly thought about Vanellope and how she couldn't be corrupted and forget her again, she couldn't be the one betraying Vanellope again.

Turbo and the others took notice of her unwillingness; Nelly smiled and took a step forward. "Fine..I guess I won't take it so easy on you Miss Taffyta.." she laughed and placed her hand on the girl, adding her shock to Turbo's. Taffyta let out a loud scream, one that filled the Mountain center and seemed to shake it. She looked out among the group, the shocks pulsating off of her, and blacks out. The last thing she remembers seeing is her copy standing unnoticed on the other side of the Mountain, looking sympathetic.


	19. Having an idea

The racers all waited for Vanellope as she walked across the finish line. Candlehead looked like a mess and when she saw Vanellope she immediately walked up to her and pushed her down, knocking her to the ground. "What is wrong with you!" she yelled as Vanellope remained on the ground, looking distant. "Are you the one who has been deleting racers, because today it definitely looks like the shoe fits?" Candlehead accused while Marshmallow, who was far behind the girl, raced up to defend Vanellope.

"No you have it all wrong, it was the karts fault…we found it and it controlled Vanellope!" he stammered and Candlehead scoffed at him. By this time they were joined by Mark, Gloyd, and Rancis who all seemed to be against Vanellope now. "How did you just simply, find the kart then?" Mark asked, he seemed hurt and didn't want to accuse Vanellope, but after seeing her try to take out Candlehead and then go after Taffyta he wasn't sure what to believe. "Face it guys, like I said…Vanellope is behind this." Gloyd said and pointed at the girl, "You are hereby no longer Princess of Sugar Rush, Vanellope Von Schweetz." He yelled. The other racers looked at Gloyd than back at Vanellope and a few out of the group seemed a little unsure by the choice, but as the time dragged on and the silence waved over them it seemed not a single one was brave enough to stick up for the girl and agreed with Gloyd, walking away from the ex-Princess.

Vanellope sat there on the ground, unmoving as the others walked away. She didn't care anymore if she wasn't Princess or if she was even a racer of Sugar Rush. All she cared about was finding Taffyta and her friends somehow and bringing them back, defeating Nelly and saving Sugar Rush. Marshmallow sighed and turned towards the girl who was getting off the ground, "Well…looks like Gloyd's the new Prince now, so I'll see you later Marsh." She stated to her ex royal guard and started to walk the track again.

"See you later, wait Vanellope?" he called and raced after the girl, "Excuse me but last time I checked, we're still friends!" he yelled, nearly tripping over himself as he did, the girl stopped letting him talk. Marshmallow looked determined and he knelt to the girl as she watched him, "And you will always be my Princess…you saved my life, whether or not people agree with you, I always will Vanellope!" he stated and smiled at the girl, it seemed that every word that flowed from his mouth he tried to express how deeply his words meant and that he was one hundred percent behind the girl. Vanellope wasn't sure if she should smile or cry at her friend's courage and faithfulness.

"So what's the plan Princess!" he asked and saluted the girl, "Or if memory serves me right, President!". Vanellope laughed the first she had in what seemed like forever and went to hug the silly candy. "I love you, Marsh..thank you!" she said and squeezed him tight. Marsh returned the hug back, whispering an I love you as well. When the moment was over Vanellope took a step back and looked around, thinking about the situation and thinking about what they should do next. Marshmallow's words had encouraged her and caused her to jump back from her sour mood she had only seconds ago been in.

While Marshmallow watched, Vanellope eyed Diet Cola Mountain, than she turned and looked at the castle, than she looked at the rainbow road. As soon as she eyed the colorful pathway it hit her. "We need to go to the arcade lobby!" Vanellope stated and turned to head towards the rainbow road leading out of Sugar Rush. Marshmallow tried to get her to stop and explain, but Vanellope was already down the road and hollering at the treat to hurry up. Marshmallow sighed and ran after the girl, the two going as fast as they could on foot, to the entrance of Sugar Rush.

* * *

"Hey this stupid game is really acting up again!" a young girl said as she hit the screen of the famous Sugar Rush game. The arcade was fairly busy today, several people had come that day because of a holiday that was off for schools and the owner was having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the people in the arcade. The owner of the arcade sighed and walked over to the game, looking it over and trying to see exactly what was wrong. "What happened exactly?" he asked and the girl gave him a serious pouty face. "I was just here last week and I played a character that wasn't here this week, what gives!" she complained, "The racer had orange and purple hair and a purple outfit..I didn't see her on anywhere!". The owner sighed and looked at the game again, this had happened several times this week, children were complaining about racers that had gone missing or had been there one time they played but then upon playing again they were not an option.

"We're working on it.." he said and handed the girl two shiny quarters, the girl looked like she wanted to complain but changed her mind when he handed her the quarters. She was off then playing the other games and having a great time, back at the Sugar Rush game the owner stood there staring at it as if he wasn't sure what to make of the game.

On one hand he loved this game, his prized possession, and up until a few weeks ago it had brought him an overabundance of gamers all wanting to play the popular game. But when the racers in the game started changing and fewer choices were being offered, the popularity of the game quickly went down. He had a lot of options to fix the game. He could reset the game, unplug it for good, he could even send it back to that young lady to fix for him.

But the game still played and it still had customers coming every so often regardless of the few racer selections. For the time being he figured he would wait, not wanting to spend extra cash on a game that wasn't broken but just limited. In this old arcade there were many games that were ancient and had limits, this game would be no different.

The owner sighed and patted the game lovingly than turned around to watch over the rest of the games as the arcade, the children, teens and adults alike buzzed alive.


	20. It begins

Vanellope walked into the lobby with Marshmallow in tow. It was almost frightening how few characters were in the lobby as she rushed down to the other end, passing by game after game. The two overheard a few characters talking about how the arcade was super busy that day and compared with the others how often they had been played that day. Unfortunately there were a few game characters whose game had been deleted and they were simply sitting around, feeling glum, and waiting for the busy day to be over. It seemed to upset them as they overheard all the talk of being played. Vanellope too felt a little sad that her game wasn't being played as much, except the one time, but she had messed that up.

Marshmallow felt as if he was going to pass out from all the running they were doing, he wasn't used to doing that much since Vanellope always drove him around in the kart or everything was near enough that it didn't require him to run around that often. He was happy when they finally came to a stop at the end of the giant lobby, towards the darker half of it. A few game portals back he noticed how less and less games had been plugged in and were just empty portals waiting to be filled with entrances to new games to the arcade. The wall they were now staring at had no portal or entrance and Marshmallow was curious why they were focusing so much on this particular spot.

"I saw Sticky here once…way back when I visited Ralph and when you had to come get me, I turned to face you and when I looked back she was gone." Vanellope explained and Marshmallow looked at the wall, not sure of what to exactly say about the comment. "I didn't let too many people know other than Taffyta, because I had no proof that she was actually here or not" she added and took a step towards the wall, "But I feel like this place here, is really..important and this is where we will find the other racers." She said confidently. Taking another step she placed her hand on the wall and pushed down on it, she was met with the force of the solid wall and she moved it over to another spot and pushed again.

Vanellope did this several times, trying to find the exact location where Sticky had disappeared to. Marshmallow watched, unsure how to help and hoped that whatever Vanellope was doing, that she didn't end up wrong in the end. When Vanellope had moved to the middle of the wall and raised her hand to press into the wall, she nearly stumbled in as her hand completely went through the wall. "Geeze!" Marshmallow gasped and walked next to Vanellope, surveying her hand. Vanellope seemed surprised by the motion as well and almost a little afraid.

But she pushed past her fears and took a step past the hidden doorway; Marshmallow sighed and walked through as well. The two were completely engulfed in darkness, Vanellope could hear Marsh making a few whimpering noises and she went to reach for his hand. The two missed a few times before she finally was able to clasp his hand and hold on tight, the little treat seemed a bit nervous but she pulled him forward and felt out with her free hand for anything that might bump into them.

The two walked and walked the long hallway that was covered in darkness; it reminded Vanellope of Ralph's entrance only a little more illuminated. The hallway didn't smell gross or feel any more different than the other entrances to the other games, but in her heart Vanellope felt as if something was dreadfully wrong with this particular entrance.

The further they went in, the darker it became and Vanellope almost questioned if she should go back and forget about this place. But when they saw a small spec of light ahead of them, they rushed as fast as they could to get to it. The light got bigger and bigger until it almost hurt the duo's eyes, than it completely surrounded them as they stepped out into a game they had never seen before. The sky was pretty basic and looked rather corny to Vanellope, it was blue with white pixelated clouds and it had green grass surrounding the area with a few tree's popping up every so often. But asides these simple effects, both Vanellope and Marsh were only focused on the track that lay ahead of them that seemed to stretch out for miles.

"So is this a racing game then?" Marshmallow asked Vanellope as they walked closer to the track, it was just as basic as every other feature to this game. "I guess so, it looks pretty…old.." she said, describing it the best way she could. Her racing game had all these special effects, 3 dimensional settings and several new race track worlds. This place had one black track that went on and on, which made her to believe that it was made a long time ago.

Vanellope scratched her head as they observed the game more, even daring to walk some of the track before them. Marshmallow seemed to have no idea what to say about it, but was hopeful that with time they would figure something out. "Why would Sticky want to hide this place, it's rather dull.." Marshmallows said as he picked up a piece of grass that simply glitched and popped out of his hand. "Maybe she needed something like this, less distracting so she could hide without anyone noticing.." Vanellope said and she was suddenly hit with realization.

"Marshmallow, this is Turbo's game!" she yelled and Marshmallow nearly fell over by her enormous voice, he stumbled back and tried to find his footing among the wild accusation. "But that doesn't make any sense…didn't they unplug his game a long time ago?" Marsh asked and looked about, suddenly feeling in danger. Vanellope looked about as well, fearing that somehow the creature would come out of nowhere and attack them.

"I don't know…but somehow his game is back and he abandoned it to come help Nelly take over Sugar Rush, they must have been hiding here.." she said, mentally kicking herself for not figuring it out sooner. Marshmallow took a few steps back, wanting to leave the game immediately. "So where are they now?" he questioned, feeling more nervous the longer they stood there. Vanellope thought about that as well. If they were here at some point than indeed where were they now? The group must have taken the deleted racers here at some point, but she couldn't imagine why they would be hiding out in an open place such as this anymore.

The two thought and thought before they both came to the realization of the whereabouts of the tyrants. "In Sugar Rush!" Marsh said before Vanellope could get a word in, the two had completely figured it out. "Right, Nelly must have wanted to get more racers on her side before crossing back into our game…they were hiding out here until then." Vanellope stated and clenched her fists, all this time she was right about seeing the girl and because she kept it from the other racers and characters of her game, now Nelly was in Sugar Rush. Possibly to completely destroy it.

"We have to get back!" She yelled and took off towards the entrance, grabbing Marshmallow's hand as she did. The two had just hopped through the entrance when two identical beings appeared from the track. They had been watching the girl and her little Marshmallow friend for a while, but didn't want them to notice just yet. The one smiled and looked at the other who clenched his fists and said, "Turbo.."

* * *

Candlehead had wished a lot of things that day. She had wished she had never raced with Vanellope and the others that morning, she had wished that she was not the reason for Taffyta's deleting, and now she had wished she had believed in Vanellope. Gloyd, Rancis, Mark and Candlehead all watched as a large cloud of dust was approaching the racetrack from Diet Cola Mountain. At first the group thought it was just a storm of some sort, programmed into the game at last minute to allow weather as well as day and night.

But the cloud got closer, and closer, than the racers all shrieked in horror as they realized that the cloud of dust was caused by several racers driving at inhuman speeds towards them. The group saw all their friends, whom they thought to be deleted, looking like monsters as they drove their destroyed, melted, and glitching karts towards them. They were being led by a red and white kart, driven by someone in a red and white jumpsuit and in the passenger's side was Nelly.

Gloyd immediately turned around and made a break for his kart, frightened and unwilling to face the horrific group. Rancis seemed to follow his actions along with Mark, but Candlehead was frozen with fear and her feet wouldn't allow her to move even an inch. The being who was driving his kart stood up and cackled loudly, "ITS TURBO TIME!" and threw his fist in the air, the other racers all hollered loudly and kicked up their speed.

"Candlehead, move!" Mark yelled, he was sitting in his kart watching as the girl just stood there. She was seconds away from meeting the group of deleted racers and yet she continued to remain frozen and allow defeat. Rancis and Gloyd were long gone, hitting the gas and going to warn the castle, while Mark stayed to try and talk sense into the girl. "Candlehead!" he screamed again just before the gang was upon her.

Candlehead turned to face Mark, her face streaked with tears and the boy reached out for her in some failed attempt to bring her to him and escape the inevitable. The karts rushed by Candlehead and she was grabbed by her copy Cake and lifted into her nearly destroyed kart. Mark watched as the girl fought with her copy but then fell limp, completely taken by them and corrupted.

"Dang it!" he yelled and turned his kart around, trying to drive towards the castle. But no sooner had he done so, the boy felt himself being grabbed by the back of his jacket and lifted into the deleted one's kart. He fell down in the passenger's seat with a loud bang and the boy nearly blacked out with the pain. When he looked up he met eyes with his racer, Swizzle, who gave him no chance to even assess the situation before attacking him with a lightning strike out of his fingertips. The boy screamed and then felt his entire being change, he felt himself slowly go to the corrupted side.

* * *

Nelly stood atop Diet Cola Mountain edge and looked down over Sugar Rush. Because of Vanellope's foolish behavior the girl was now in possession of the one racer she needed to truly break Vanellope, Taffyta. The pink racer had been very stubborn and refused to be corrupted upon several attempts. Even with Turbo, Nelly and other racers all trying at the same time, the girl hadn't let them overcome her. Nelly smiled still, honestly not needing the girl on her side but needing her away from Vanellope to take full control of Sugar Rush.

Turbo appeared suddenly beside her and she could hear the being say something under his breath, "It is time already?" she asked and he nodded looking back at the racers who were all waiting for their command. "I was hoping to take over Sugar Rush while Vanellope was still here, but I suppose while she takes her little walk we can attack.." Nelly sighed and jumped off the ledge and landed on the ground just below her in the center of the Mountain, "We'll just have a little surprise for her when she get's back then?" she laughed and the group laughed too.

The entire group was impressive; all were changed and had the ability to change others into a part of Nelly's team of the deleted and corrupted racers. They all ranged from Vanellope's favorite racers, to the best racers, to even just the average ones. Nelly had only four more racers to obtain before she completely could rule Sugar Rush, she smiled evilly as she thought about the chance to fix this terrible place.

Turbo jumped down from the Mountain edge to join Nelly at her side, ready to follow her into the battle to take over Sugar Rush. "Friends, today we are going after what should have been rightfully mine…" Nelly started and the group all saluted the girl, smiling equally as evil. "We are going to take back Sugar Rush and I, your rightful ruler, will once again be the Princess of Sugar Rush!" she yelled and the group whooped and hollered for the girl. Nelly smiled and waved them off, each of them making their way down the Mountain to get in their karts. Turbo had regenerated them the best he could, preparing the group for the upcoming battle.

"Oh but Red…?" Nelly asked the boy who was almost on his way down with the others but stopped and saluted the girl upon hearing his name from her lips. "I have a special duty for you, I need you to watch over this one.." Nelly said and pointed over to where they typically kept their racers who weren't easily corrupted. Taffyta was lying lifeless on the ground and had her arm chained up in case she were to wake up and try to escape, her body moved slowly up and down as she breathed softly.

Red smiled and nodded to his Princess, immediately following orders. Nelly smiled and went to join the other racers with Turbo. The boy had been simply marvelous since being corrupted and she enjoyed having his faithfulness in the group, especially after the terrible time trying to corrupt him. Nelly smiled at the memory, the boy's final hours as a normal racer, and how he finally was able to give in after several attempts. She had faith that if he was able to be corrupted, that Taffyta would just be a matter of time as well.

As Nelly walked around the deleted graveyard crew they all looked to her with admiration, waiting for her call. Nelly beamed and got into the red and white kart, the passenger side as Turbo got into the driver's seat. Holding up her hand, she gave the signal to begin the attack. "Vanellope Von Schweetz, your last hour as Princess over Sugar Rush…is officially here."


	21. Sugar Rush has fallen

"Help!" Gloyd screamed as he came crashing through the Castle doorways, he tumbled onto the floor as the doors sprang open and he had to quickly haul himself up and down the hallway to the throne room. "Guards, Guards!" he cried as he burst through the second pair of doors that lead to the main section of the castle, the throne room, where Sour Bill and several guards were busy talking about plans for their game.

Sour bill turned to see Gloyd, plus a few other guards who had caught up to the boy from the hallway and the castle entrance, looking like a complete mess. His orange pumpkin hat had fallen to the floor, tears were falling down his face mixed with sweat and it would be noted by everyone in attendance that he may or may not have had an accident.

"N-NELLY IS HERE!" he screamed and pointed towards the door, causing the guards to immediately tense and look towards the direction as well. Sour Bill gulped and walked over to the boy, following where he was pointing as well. The room remained silent, waiting to see if the boy was lying or not. A minute went by and another, Sour Bill didn't want to figure the boy was lying but he also wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing.

Then someone stepped into the door of the castle and began walking towards them, they hobbled a little causing the crew to wonder what was wrong with the person while Gloyd screamed. "There, get him!" he cried and scurried away behind the guards. The guards moved forward and took out their weapons; some had spears while others had swords that they all pointed at the intruder. They were nearly about to attack when Rancis stepped into the light and they all lowered their weapons.

Sour Bill was the first to be angry, "You two have gone far enough, making jokes of dire situations!" he yelled and turned towards Gloyd who was still putting on his frightened act, "You two should be punished immediately!" he yelled and the Oreo guards agreed. But when still Gloyd refused to move from his position even when they threatened that they would throw him in the fungeon, Sour Bill started to worry. "Rancis what is wrong with him?" he called to the boy, worried that Gloyd had turned crazy or was possibly ill. Rancis continued to stand there, unmoving, wearing a wicked smile on his face.

"Wha..?" Sour Bill began to say but was silenced when Rancis let out an inhuman scream that pierced all of their ears, the Oreo guards and Sour bill immediately dropped to the floor and covered their ears. The pain was severe and they knew immediately the noise couldn't have been from a normal racer. After that the throne room was lifted into chaos as several characters filled the room, all they had believed were deleted including the non-deleted ones such as Mark, Candlehead and now Rancis. When all had entered the room and circled the group of Oreo guards along with Sour Bill, Nelly took a step into the castle and smiled evilly at the group, at her side was Turbo.

Sour Bill's green face turned very pale as he watched the two slowly approach them, seeming in sync with every step they took. Turbo hissed and pointed to Sour Bill as they descended upon them, "Oh so this is your buddy huh?" Nelly asked as she as well pointed to Sour Bill. Sour Bill wanted to disappear somehow, to be rid of this moment between Nelly, Turbo and him. He remembered the days serving under the evil man, thinking he was actually ruler of Sugar Rush and King Candy for the matter. He had feared this moment would happen, that he would come back for him, he just never thought it would be so soon.

Nelly cleared her throat and looked around the room, smiling proudly, "It seems we clearly have you outnumbered…we've come to take over the castle, over Sugar Rush for that matter.." she stated loudly so the whole room could hear. The guards shook and fell to their knee's while Sour Bill tried to remain as calm as he could with the situation at hand, "Your choices are these, surrender and join us or be subject to our wrath!" Nelly finished off, laughing as she did.

The room was quiet than and it could be seen that a few were looking about to see if anyone would simply surrender. "Please have mercy!" Gloyd screamed and pushed through the Oreo guards to the front to bow in front of the evil Princess and Turbo, "Please spare me, I'll do whatever you want!" he cried and held his hands out to the tyrants. Nelly smiled and nodded to Turbo, who walked forward and grabbed Gloyd right over his face and shocked him. The crowd flinched as Gloyd screamed and was corrupted; some even took a step back and clutched at their weapons.

"Such a coward.." Nelly laughed and looked at the group again, "Anyone else?"

* * *

Vanellope and Marshmallow quickly made their way down the rainbow bridge that led into Sugar Rush, the two were very tired by this point and taking big gulps of air in as they made their way to the castle. They had almost made it past the peppermint forest when Vanellope stopped, looking out of the forest down the ways that led to the castle. Marshmallow hadn't seen her stop and was going a ways ahead of her before he turned around and noticed the girl had seemed stuck in place, he rushed back to her and pulled on her arm "Vanellope come on!" he urged, "We haven't got much time, we need to get to the castle to warn everyone!".

Vanellope shook her head no and pointed at the castle ahead of them, "Marsh, look.." she said simply and the Marshmallow followed where she was directing him to see. "I don't see.." Marshmallow began to say but then he indeed did see. Coming out of the castle was a group of deleted racers followed by Oreo guards and eventually Nelly came stepping out of the castle. Although they figured they were concealed by the peppermint tree's and a good distance away, Vanellope and Marshmallow still ducked behind one of the tree's and watched as Nelly gave orders to the gang. The group nodded and raced off in a hurry, Nelly looking pleased with herself.

As the evil Princess walked back inside and the guards took their post, Vanellope turned to Marshmallow saying "We need to follow those karts..". Marshmallow nodded but seemed a little confused, "Why are we following them, shouldn't we try and stop Nelly at the castle?" he asked as Vanellope started to walk out of the forest. "I have a bad feeling about that group..and even if we go crashing into the castle, we have no idea what we're going against!" she stated and Marshmallow figured that much was true. They could easily get into the castle to find a whole army against them, or they could find themselves ambushed around the castle area and become deleted.

"We need a kart though; we won't be able to follow them on foot!" Vanellope said as the two reached the outside of the peppermint forest and were descending very close to the castle. They slowed their steps as they did and they began to whisper, worrying that the guards might see them. "Vanellope how are we going to get a kart though..?" Marshmallow asked as the two began to sink behind a bushel of candy just before the giant castle, Vanellope's kart was locked away inside giant building and any other kart now belonged to Nelly or the deleted.

Before Vanellope could even begin to explain her plans for getting inside and stealing her kart from the inside of the castle, a sparkly light appeared next to them and the same red and white kart became visible to them. Vanellope gulped and she looked at her friend Marshmallow, the two knew the kart was there to help them but after the events from the last time Vanellope rode in it, they weren't sure if it was worth it. Vanellope stood up and took a final breath before walking over to it and climbing in, "Vanellope!" Marshmallow yelled, immediately holding a hand over his mouth and looking back at the castle. The guards shuffled their feet but overall didn't seem to notice Marshmallow's loud voice; Marshmallow sighed and climbed in after Vanellope.

"You do realize this kart nearly killed us last time, if it controls you again…Nelly might officially win!" Marshmallow argued. Vanellope nodded and looked at the little treat, "I understand..but right now we don't have any other options, we have to do this Marsh.." she said and the faithful friend sighed and agreed with her. Vanellope smiled at him and went to turn on the engine, as she did she held on to every inch of her original self and her plans for saving Sugar Rush, she remembered all her friends and every single citizen of Sugar Rush. She thought about Ran, Snowana, Candlehead, Mark, and especially Taffyta hoping it was enough to remember not to be corrupted so easily again.

As soon as the kart roared alive, Vanellope felt the same evil feelings flaring inside of her heart and mind. She felt the urge to win and race the kart right into the castle to challenge Nelly to a race, she felt she had to put the stupid girl in her place and knew that with this kart she could do so. But when Marshmallow placed a hand on her shoulders, having seen the girl's eyes flicker red and her typical smile fade to a scowl, Vanellope was brought back and she fought against the urges and hit the gas.

Marshmallow looked back at the castle as it started to go out of sight and worried for a moment that the guards would have seen them and sent racers after them, but after another minute or two they both relaxed and focused on the direction the deleted racers were going all while Vanellope continued to struggle with herself and not being overcome by evil.

* * *

The two of them had followed her through the tunnel leading out of their game; at first they were nervous to take that very first step out. But when they noticed she was getting away they overcame their fears and followed the girl, silently, through the lobby. The room had a few game characters wandering about and to the two it was almost enough to make them nervous. Still they followed the girl and her little Marshmallow friend until they disappeared through another game entryway.

"Sugar…Rush." One of them had read and looked at the other, who gave them an odd look. It was obvious neither one knew what to think about the game nor about why of all games 'He' had chosen this one. But they figured it didn't matter the why or how's of the situation and jumped through the portal, traveling straight to the entrance of the game. The two were almost blinded by the bright colors of the game as they walked out onto the rainbow bridge; their game was bright but had average colors like green or blue and not colors such as these. They spotted the little girl and the Marshmallow running into a red and white forest up ahead and they scurried along to catch up with her, she was quick on her feet and they had almost lost her a time or two.

Just when they caught up they found she was staring at something in the distance along with her friend, the girl and the companion talked for a moment and then creeped out of the forest. The two could only guess why the girl and her friend were afraid of walking around in her own game, if it was her own game, but they figured it had to do with 'Him' and were worried they had delayed too long. It made matters worse when they noticed the girl getting into a red and white kart and driving away.

"That's his kart!" the one yelled and started to rush after them, the other quickly grabbed him and yanked him back to where he was standing. "Wait.." the other one had commanded, the two waited a few moments observing to see if any of the guards were going to take chase after the girl. When no one seemed to notice her drive away, they rushed out of the forest and down the path leading past the castle and towards the direction where the girl and her friend were racing away. They would take much longer to catch up to her on foot, but they were determined to follow her regardless.


	22. Wreck it

Taffyta's eyes fluttered open taking in the scene around her for the first time since passing out. The racers were gone, as well as Turbo and Nelly, and all that was left was a hot boiling Mountain filled with smoke and Diet Cola. She slowly began to sit up; aching from the electricity shock she had received from the evil crew earlier and breathed in deeply. Smoke immediately filled her lungs and she coughed, forgetting that the air up here was thick and she would have to eventually descend from the Mountain if she was going to be able to get a fresh breath of air soon.

"Bought time you woke up." Red said as he took a step out of the shadows, it caused Taffyta to flinch and move away from the boy. 'Had he been there the whole time?' Taffyta thought and went to stand up, ready to fight him. Taffyta remembered seeing the boy being corrupted just before she passed out completely, as much as it killed her to be against Red, she would have to fight him now.

Red looked at Taffyta with a strange sort of look, a judging one per say, and laughed at her. "Come now, do you really think I'd let a couple of loser's bent on living out their glory days corrupt me?" he said and held out his arms, "I'm fine Taffyta, I'm still Red.". Taffyta took a step back, still unsure, and tripped over the chains she now saw she was locked into. Red took a step forward, wanting to help her up, but Taffyta shrunk away from him "Prove to me that you're not corrupted!" she hollered at him, which caused him to flinch. "I saw you're eyes change..I saw you change into one of them!" Taffyta yelled and pointed a finger at him as to emphasize her point.

Red sighed and took a step closer, "I did change, but problem with this stupid corruption stuff is I can change back.." he trailed off trying to explain, "I remembered who I was I guess, remembered that I am Red and not Nelly's servant…that I am stronger than her and I am not afraid of her!". Taffyta still looked unconvinced and the boy, sighed running a hand through his hair. "I don't know why I am stronger and able to not be corrupted so easily, I just was..and obviously you were too otherwise you wouldn't be here arguing with me!" he laughed and Taffyta had to give him that point.

A large shock noise interrupted their conversation and the two looked over to the other side of the Diet Cola Mountain top. Someone had recently been deleted and was appearing before them on the Mountain, the being was huge and made both of them wonder who it could possibly be from the tiny land of Sugar Rush. Red rushed over to Taffyta's side and started to undo the locks, "I'm sorry if you don't believe me…but I'm not staying on this Mountaintop to deal with whoever just has been corrupted!" he laughed and completely undid the lock. He jumped up and ran towards the exit, but paused waiting for Taffyta. The girl sighed, if Red was still evil than at least he was setting her free regardless.

As the two took off towards the exit, Taffyta turned back and her eyes filled with horror as the being stepped out of the shadows and smoke. His eyes bright red, his skin was clammy looking and his hair was turning a deep black. He slammed his fists together and a large boom erupted from the top of Diet Cola Mountain, "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" Ralph screamed.

* * *

Ralph had been working all morning long in his game, Fix it Felix Jr. The whole gang had been getting lots of kids that day, ranging from old and young, good gamers and bad ones. But as the day slipped into the afternoon and then the afternoon into the evening, Ralph was able to relax a little bit with not so many repetitive game cycles over and over again. He was just sitting out on his pile of bricks when he noticed someone was coming into their game.

The large game character wondered why anyone would be visiting the game while the arcade was open, he even wondered if maybe they had the times wrong and the arcade was indeed actually closed. Ralph looked at his wrist and realized he wouldn't be able to tell the times anyways since he didn't have a watch to look at, but he swore he heard the beeping noises from the other games still on. Standing up he went to greet the character, or maybe stir them away from his game since it was still being used.

"Hey there..!" Ralph called and waved at the character coming in, the little creature was so far away he couldn't make out who it was from where he was standing. "Are you okay?" he called and the character retreated away, causing Ralph to be confused. "Hey wait!" he yelled after them and went to chase them down, feeling bad that he may have frightened them away. He paused a moment, looking back at his game and worrying about leaving it again, but he figured he'd be right back after he checked on this person and asked if they were okay.

Ralph raced after the creature and even followed them through the tunnel into the lobby, he had to dodge characters from other games as they started to fill the lobby at the end of the day and still manage to keep up with the strange one. It surprised him when they jumped through the Sugar Rush portal and he wondered if it was Vanellope playing a trick on him. The girl had been in some serious trouble lately and he was surprised that she would be pulling something again so soon.

Either way he hopped through and traveled the way to the Sugar Rush bridge entrance where the little creature had been waiting for him, who he figured was now Vanellope. "All right kid, you got me here…now what is it Vanellope?" he laughed and went to reach for her. Immediately Ralph felt a wave of shock shoot through him and he screamed, falling down to the ground. As if on cue, several Sugar Rush racers and Oreo guards all came out and shocked Ralph with their hands with what looked to be like electricity coming out. Ralph was strong, but this power seemed enough to destroy a hundred Ralphs, and after being completely taken off guard it seemed to immediately do some serious damage to the hero.

"Not exactly Vanellope, but close.." the creature said, revealing herself to Ralph for the first time. The girl had a striking resemblance to Vanellope, she had blonde hair and Vanellope's Princess outfit on, only instead of Vanellope's usual silly smile this girl had on a wicked grin. "Maybe you've heard of me, My name is Nelly…the new Princess of Sugar Rush!" she laughed and Ralph made to move but the shocks were keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Don't bother.." Nelly laughed and looked behind her as another being was coming up fast to greet the group. Ralph brought his head up to see who was coming, thinking it might be a friend or even Vanellope to help him. But as the being made his way through the racers and up to Nelly, Ralph looked on in horror as Turbo raised his hand over the man's head and cackled. "TURBO-TASTIC!"

* * *

After struggling with the kart to gain control and not being corrupted, Vanellope and Marshmallow both were able to drive along nicely. She had gained the upper hand and rarely had to fight the power of evil, "It seems like evil doesn't put up a fight for very long huh Marsh?" the girl laughed although she was worried that it might suddenly hit her with a full blast of corruption. Marshmallow tried to laugh but he knew that although Vanellope was able to control the kart, doesn't mean that battle was over. Turbo could easily gain access to the kart again and with just them two against all the other's it was a pretty easy battle for the evil one.

The two had been driving for a while, passing by several monumental places such as Diet Cola Mountain and the Sugar Rush Speedway. Vanellope ignored those places for now, simply focusing on the road ahead and catching up to the racers who were on their way to who knows where. Marshmallow was growing anxious and worried they'd lose the group eventually if they didn't start seeing them soon.

Suddenly they noticed some karts driving straight at them, at lightning speed. Vanellope squinted her eyes and noticed it was the same karts and racers that had been sent by Nelly in that very same direction; whatever they were doing they had done and were now on their way back to the castle. Vanellope swerved off towards large rocks of gum drops and concealed them behind the largest she could find, kart and all. Marshmallow and Vanellope held their breath as the racers became closer and closer, she feared they might have already seen her and were ready to attack at any moment.

But as the first one zoomed by, followed by another and then finally the last one, Vanellope let out the air she had been holding and watched as they raced back towards the castle and out of her sight. Kicking the gas again, the duo got back on the path and road straight towards the direction they had come from. "Wait Vanellope, aren't we going back?" Marshmallow said and looked back at the direction where the karts were going, he didn't seem thrilled to be following them but he also didn't seem to want to abandon Sugar Rush as well. Vanellope nodded but continued driving the opposite direction, "Something has happened, why would they all come out here for no reason…turn around and go back?" she asked the little creature who sighed at her.

"Maybe it's a distraction..?" Marshmallow asked and Vanellope did give him that, it could very well be a distraction so that the two would be away while Nelly could do more evil work. But as the area started to become more familiar to Vanellope, she realized in her head what Nelly could have possibly done and she pressed on the gas harder to speed up. No sooner had she done so, a small village popped up just on the horizon and Vanellope gasped as she saw smoke and destruction rising from the wee place.

Marshmallow squinted and tried to see what kind of village it was, realizing it must have been a candy village if any kind. As they arrived to the now broken and ruined place, he realized that it was a mix and assortment of candies, including popcorn families. Vanellope jumped out of the kart and immediately looked among the wreckage for survivors, "Hey!" she called , her heart beating uncontrollably fast, "Anybody here!" she cried out again and lifted a large piece of peppermint wood from a demolished shack to look underneath.

Not a single soul was left to this broken village and Vanellope clenched her fists as she arrived to a particularly familiar house at the edge of the village. The popcorn families' shack was hit the hardest, Vanellope had a hard time even recognizing which part of the house was which. She pulled up some of the pieces of the shack and looked underneath for survivors, but was heartbroken to find nothing. All she managed to find that led to any trace of her old friends was the shattered crown she had given Jo, it laid crushed underneath the shack. Vanellope clutched at the crown as Marshmallow wandered up to the girl, he had been trying his best to lift things apart and look for someone, anyone, as well. "Vanellope.." he said but trailed off, unsure of what to say about this disaster.

Vanellope shook her head, "This was personal…she didn't attack any of the surrounding candy villages nearby…she purposefully went to this one..because.." Vanellope wiped away at a tear that was falling down her face, "She did this because of Ma, Pa, Jo and Grammy…" she cried and collapsed to the ground. Marshmallow rushed to her side and rubbed her back as the girl sobbed for the loss of her friends. The little treat was trying not to cry as well, but his tears came out in buckets full.


	23. Twins

Taffyta and Red flew out of Diet Cola Mountain, huffing and puffing as they tried to gain some ground away from Ralph as he smashed his way through the active volcano. The poor character had somehow just been corrupted by Nelly or Turbo and was officially on the side of evil, how they had managed that Taffyta was unsure. All she knew was that she needed to get out of his way, or be crushed trying to stop him.

"Ralph stop!" Taffyta screamed as she looked back and saw the giant man crash through the entrance of Diet Cola Mountain and thunder down the way towards them. "It's too late, he's corrupted..we can't talk any sense into him Taffyta!" Red hollered over the booming noises of Ralph's feet. Taffyta clenched her fists as she realized the truth, that Ralph wasn't going to change back, and she fought with herself to keep running even as she felt the pain in her muscles and her body giving in.

Ralph was gaining on the two, fast, and Red knew that if they didn't figure something out soon that they'd either be crushed by Ralph or taken hostage back to Nelly. No sooner had he thought this, Ralph did indeed stop surprising both of the racers. Ralph stood there dead in his tracks and stared at the two as they rushed off. Taffyta nearly stopped to look back and wonder why her old friend had decided to stop chasing them, but as she slowed Red grabbed her arm and pulled at her to keep going. The two continued to run until Ralph was completely out of sight and they collapsed onto the ground, completely worn.

"Why…did he stop?" Taffyta gasped as she lay on her back, her chest rising and falling rapidly while Red sat down next to her equally breathless. "I don't know, and honestly I don't care.." he sighed looking back at the direction where they had just been chased by Ralph. The two continued to stay there, catching their breath and thankful that they hadn't been caught by the now evil servant. "Now what are we going to do.." Taffyta said, feeling much better after sitting out for a moment.

Red shook his head, "I haven't a clue Taffyta…I would say the best thing is to find Vanellope, but.." he trailed off and looked out towards Sugar Rush. Taffyta waited for him to respond; worried he may have had a vision of the girl or known something about Vanellope that Taffyta didn't know yet. "But what…?" Taffyta asked and looked over at the boy; he seemed to be thinking about what he was going to say next. "But where do we even begin?" he laughed and held his hands up in the air, "Obviously Nelly is in control of Sugar Rush now…why else would Ralph be here and corrupted?" he laughed bitterly.

Taffyta sighed and stood up, looking around at the surrounding area. She knew that the area was near the castle and she knew that they would need to find Vanellope to devise a plan, but she wasn't sure if it was already too late for that. "Well, we better just start looking than." Taffyta said, trying to sound positive and began walking towards the castle. Red gaped at her, acting as if she was crazy, but sighed and followed her. The two knew they would have to eventually meet with Nelly and her crew, whether or not they would face them alone or with Vanellope, they weren't quite sure.

* * *

"What's that?" Marshmallow asked as the two of them drove down the road, headed towards Nelly and the castle. They had cried and cried together, feeling sorry for their deleted friends and themselves, for almost an hour. But Vanellope dried her tears and grabbed ahold of Marsh's hand and led him away from the destroyed, sad place. Dwelling on their friend's deleting was not going to help and it surely wasn't going to save Sugar Rush. So Vanellope and Marshmallow ventured off, back towards the castle, ready to fight even if they weren't sure how yet. They had been on the road back for a while when they noticed someone, or something, up ahead walking towards them. "Don't stop Vanellope, it could be bad news!" Marshmallow commented, Vanellope wasn't planning on stopping but as they neared the group the kart began to shake and act funny. "What's going on?" Marsh cried and Vanellope noticed they were slowing down.

Just before they arrived in front of the group, two interesting looking characters that were obviously not from their game, the kart stopped completely. Vanellope immediately jumped out and clenched her fists, "Alright, whoever you are…I'm not afraid to fight you!" she yelled and the two beings looked at each other, than at her, than the kart. Marshmallow squeaked as their eyes fell upon him and he tried to look dangerous, ultimately failing as he shook from their glares. "C'mon, are you with Turbo or Nelly…we'll fight you if we have to!" Vanellope yelled again and the two eyes lit up as they heard Vanellope say Turbo.

"How do you know Turbo..?" one of them asked and Vanellope was taken off guard, surprised they could speak for some reason. "Furthermore how are you in possession with his kart?" the other asked, the two sounded eerily alike. Vanellope eyed the two up and down, taking them in for the first time. They honestly looked a lot like Turbo, but taller and instead of Turbo's red and white jumpsuit these two sported a blue and white one. Instead of a red and white helmet, these two had blue and white ones and were squareish shaped instead of round.

"We won't answer anything till you let us know who you two are!" Marshmallow yelled out, feeling confident, Vanellope turned back at him and then back at the two nodding her head in agreement, "How did you even manage to control the kart…how did you get it to stop like that?" she asked and waited for them to respond. The two smiled at each other and then looked back at Vanellope, "We are the Turbo Twins…and that is our friend Turbo's kart, we were able to stop it because it belongs in our game..not your's, now why do you have it?" they answered in unison. Vanellope's mind froze and Marshmallow seemed just as confused. Turbo's friends? Vanellope was surprised Turbo even had one friend, let alone two. She looked back at the kart and ran her hand over the red and white decor, "This is…Turbo's kart?" she questioned and Turbo Twins nodded, seeming surprised she didn't just know.

"Wait how are you two even here, you're game was unplugged!" Marshmallow complained, curious how the two were even able to make it to their game. "We followed you here, we're looking for Turbo to bring him back to our game where he belongs…." The one Turbo Twin answered while the other nodded. "And yes our game was unplugged because of our old Turbo leaving and caused it to become broken…luckily we we're fixed and brought back to the arcade with a new Turbo programmed in.." The Turbo Twins trailed off and looked at each other, "But unfortunately we gained a bug or two and now we lost our new Turbo, we had been searching for him when we found you two snooping about in our game..we figured you'd lead us to him.".

Vanellope scratched her head and leaned against the kart, "Wait..so there is a new Turbo?" Vanellope asked and the Turbo Twins nodded, "Yes he's a lot lovelier than our old one…it's unfortunate we lost him.". Vanelloped looked at Marshmallow and then back at the Turbo Twins. None of this made sense, Turbo was obviously his old evil self and causing problems in their game again. But these Turbo Twins claimed they had a new one that was missing and that was perfectly normal, not crazy, Turbo. "I hate to break it to you, but Turbo is still up to his old evil ways…he's definitely causing problems in our game!" Vanellope stated and the Turbo Twins looked at each other confused, "How can that be…he was perfectly normal, we've been getting played a lot lately as well before his disappearance.." the Twins said sadly. Marshmallow climbed out of the kart and walked up next to the group, confused just as they were, "Maybe it wasn't enough…maybe he needed more plays like the old Turbo?" Marshmallow asked and the Twins looked even sadder than before.

Vanellope felt odd talking to the two of them; they were technically nicer versions of the Turbo she had grown to despise. Still she felt sad for them and their realization that their new Turbo had gone evil again. "Don't worry, we'll help you guys get your Turbo back and out of our game!" Vanellope said as positively as she could. The Turbo Twins nodded, feeling a bit better by the girl's kind words, but still a bit sad. "First things first though, we need to stop my worlds evil villain..Nelly, after that we can help you get Turbo back to your game!" Vanellope stated and held out her hand, "By the way..my name is Vanellope and this is Marshmallow".

The twins smiled and shook her hands, not giving her their names since they had already formally introduced themselves. "Nice to meet you Vanellope, Marshmallow, but who is this Nelly you speak of?" they questioned as Vanellope climbed into Turbo's kart, "I'll explain on the way, but just know..you guys have got quite a villain ahead of you before you worry about getting Turbo back." Vanellope said and kicked on the engine. Marshmallow climbed in and waited for the Twins to climb in as well, something in his gut made him worry about the two but at this point they were out of options and having the Twins may be in their advantage.

The twins smiled and got into the kart, ready to get their friend back, and listened as Vanellope told them the entire tale from the unplugging event to just a few moments ago with the candy village mayhem.


	24. Trouble in paradise

It had been a busy day in the castle since Nelly had gained control and taken her seat on the throne. She had first sent out various racers to collect the candy citizens of Sugar Rush and send them back to their island they belonged on, destroying their village homes as they did. Along with that she redecorated the castle, covering up the yucky mint green Vanellope was so fond of and painting over it with the bright pink she had always wanted.

As she gave orders and sent more racers off, along with corrupted guards, Nelly could hear the distant booming noises of her recent corruption Ralph. "Good, he can follow orders.." Nelly smiled and snapped her fingers, "Quickly..put away the prisoners!" Nelly commanded and a few of the corrupted guards saluted her while dragging away some of the more stronger, uncorrupted guards and Sour Bill. "You won't get away with this!" Sour Bill yelled as he was pushed down the stairs, towards the fungeon.

Nelly knew that her powers had limitations. Corrupted souls could change back to good ones while the stronger willed would also not be so easy to change as well, knowing this made her always think twice about her choices and situations. Ralph coming into the castle only to being talked out of corruption by Sour Bill or the other guards would only set her plans further back, getting rid of the candy citizens would be the best choice to move forward.

As Ralph entered the castle, Nelly turned and smiled at him "Ah my good buddy Ralph, so nice to see you…on the side of evil." She laughed and Ralph bowed his head at her. Nelly had it all, control of the castle, control of the racers, even control of characters from other games. Still she wanted her grand prize, she wanted Taffyta in her control. "I am going to send Turbo to pick up Taffyta from Diet Cola Mountain, Red should have had her corrupted by now…so I need you to watch the castle as he goes, understood Ralph?" Nelly commanded, Ralph nodded showing her a dopey smile.

Nelly snapped her fingers and Turbo arrived next to her in a flash, his body seeming just as ghastly as usual. "I need you to bring me Taffyta from Diet Cola Mountain, she should be on our side now." Nelly smiled and waited for the evil being to go. When Turbo stood there, unmoving, Nelly scowled unsure why the being wasn't listening to her. "I command you to bring me Taffyta from Diet Cola Mountain…" Nelly yelled and stamped her foot; Turbo shrugged his shoulders and whispered something under his breath.

Nelly clenched her fists, "What do you mean she's not on Diet Cola Mountain!" she screamed and Ralph flinched, although she wasn't angry with him. Turbo again whispered something unheard by normal ears, "Red isn't corrupted anymore either.." she said and her face grew red with fury. Turbo was about to say something else when Nelly took a step forward and slapped Turbo hard across the face, his helmet flying off and onto the ground. "How could you not tell me about these events?" she screamed as Turbo went to retrieve his helmet. "You better fix this..immediately, or you can forget being my right hand." She threatened as Turbo disappeared in a flash, a scowl etched onto his face.

Nelly started to bite the inside of her mouth and pace back and forth as she surveyed the events that had just unfolded. Turbo was supposed to alert her immediately when something out of sorts had happened with their original plans, prior to this moment he always had a knack of fixing things and telling her when something had happened. Taffyta escaping her chains from Diet Cola Mountain along with losing Red from their team was a heavy blow to the Princess' plans, one she needed to fix immediately. "Turbo better fix his mistake…" Nelly threatened out loud, feeling betrayed by the evil beings insolence.

Ralph watched Nelly as she continued to pace back and forth, talking to herself. Inside his mind he only thought about destroying and about following orders for the young Princess, nothing about his previous encounter with Taffyta and Red. His mind was too clouded by the darkness to alert the Princess about the possible chance to gain the two back that the Princess had missed when she called him to her only moments ago. Nelly caught the large beast staring at her and she sighed fixing a strand of hair that had fallen out of her pony tail, "Now then..about you guarding the castle Ralph.."

* * *

"Pa..are we going to be okay?" Jo asked, looking up at her Pa, her face was dirty from the battle they had faced earlier with the racers and their attack on their little village. Jo, Pa, Ma, and Grammy were all sitting down and eating a late lunch together when they heard booming and screaming outside of their little shack. The last thing Jo even recalls after that was fighting with a dark looking racer as they tossed them through a white light, which took them to the docks on the other side of Sugar Rush. Before any of them had time to think, they were being packed onto a giant banana boat and shipped out to sea.

Pa smiled down at Jo and kissed her head, "We'll be fine, Vanellope will save us." He said although his voice sounded a little worried. Grammy was sitting next to Pa while Jo sat in between his Ma and Pa as they watched several other candy citizens talked amongst each other. Some seemed worried while others were in a wild panic, only Pa and his family seemed calm in this situation, having faith in Vanellope.

"Nelly must be back.." Grammy said suddenly and Pa's disapproving look could be seen, he didn't want to worry Jo and Grammy's comment would only stir trouble within the boat. "Nelly, but I thought she…" Jo trailed off and looked up to her Pa who smiled back at her again, "We don't know if it's Nelly, we should just remain calm and see what happens…" Pa said, staring at Grammy who looked a little ashamed. Jo nodded, but still felt nervous about the boat ride, she didn't want to go back to Candy Island and she didn't want to lose her friend Vanellope to the evil Nelly.

"Candy creatures…we've arrived at your new home!" an Oreo guard rang out suddenly, his eyes glowing a deep red. All at once the candy creatures looked around at the edges of the boat and out onto the water, looking at what the guards were pointing to. Pa's jaw clenched while Ma started to cry, Grammy sighed and sat back down feeling defeated. Jo watched as Candy Island came into view, looking just as isolated as it did back before Vanellope had saved them.

* * *

"I'm going on my break." The owner of the arcade called over to his coworker, a young man of about twenty. The young man had just started working there at the arcade but was already showing signs that he would be able to hold a manager position at the store someday. He was always kind to the customers and did well with managing the games; he even gave great tips when it came to ideas for the arcade.

The owner had no problem leaving the young man to manage things while he was on his thirty minute break, hardly anything ever went wrong in the arcade asides a broken game and he knew the kid could handle it. Pushing past the 'employee's only' door, the owner walked down the long hallway and into the break room. He was excited to finally have time to play a game or two back there while he ate a snack and quickly retrieved his lunch bag from the fridge, grabbing a chair, and sitting down in front of his treasured game.

Adding two quarters in, the game beeped alive and he got ready to play. The owner smiled and waited for the main character to arrive, thinking he might try and beat his score he had made the last time he played. But as he waited and waited the game's character 'Turbo' never arrived and the game simply remained frozen on the race track. The owner frowned and hit the machine, knowing that would never just simply fix it, but frustrated it wasn't working. A minute went by, then three, and soon the owner had lost at least ten minutes of his break waiting for the game.

"Dang it…" he sighed and opened up his bag, getting a muffin out and biting into it. He had just restored this game a few weeks ago and it was already broken, like a lot of games in his arcade. The owner loved this game in his younger years and had restored it for his own personal entertainment, seeing it already broken annoyed him. Sighing he moved away from the game and took a seat at the break table, done worrying over the game. "What is going on with all these games.." he thought as he finished eating his snack.


	25. Realization

"I just don't understand.." The one Turbo Twin said suddenly as they drove down the path. The group had remained silent since Vanellope finished up their story as best she could, explaining how Nelly had tried to take over Sugar Rush, how she was eventually deleted, and now suddenly was able to get Turbo on her side and managed to attack Sugar Rush again. Vanellope turned to look at him, than back at the road, "What don't you understand exactly…?" Vanellope asked, curious how the two Turbo Twins could try and deny Turbo's evil ways.

The Turbo Twins sighed in unison and looked out at the world zooming by them as they drove, "It's just..the old Turbo we had really snapped..and we were quick to find out his selfish ways are what ended up getting him deleted by hero's such as yourself and that Ralph character." They stated and Vanellope smiled, remembering her giant friend for a moment. "But what I don't understand is why our new Turbo suddenly changed so?" one of the Turbo Twins asked, the other one opened his mouth to finish, "He seemed so happy..".

Marshmallow genuinely looked sad for the pair, as well as Vanellope, they knew they couldn't help that Turbo was evil again but they wished deep down in their pixelated hearts that they could. "I'm sorry..I wish I knew why you're new Turbo decided to come to Sugar Rush, why he wanted to take over our world with Nelly." Vanellope said softly and the Turbo Twins nodded, sadly. "Perhaps, maybe it wasn't his choice, maybe…it was Nellys?" they both asked and Vanellope slammed on her breaks.

The whole group held on for dear life until the kart skidded to a complete stop, bodies collided and groans could be heard after the kart silenced. "What in the name of Gum balls was that Vanellope!?" Marshmallow yelled, his little Marshmallow face was red after slamming into the back of the Turbo Twins helmet. Vanellope ignored the little treat's cry and faced the Twins, "What if Nelly is controlling the new Turbo though!?" she asked and the Twins seemed confused by her question. "Think about it, Turbo is a villain here in the arcade, of course she would use him to strike fear into all of us racers…that way we would easily follow her, get it?" Vanellope asked again and Marshmallow's eyes widened with realization.

"So what you're saying is that Turbo is not the bad guy behind this..?" Marshmallow asked and Vanellope scratched her head, "Yes and well…no, he could be but.." she trailed off losing her thought. The group waited for her to find it again and relaxed a bit after the sudden stop they had just suffered, "So let's say that this new Turbo really was good, that means that Nelly did somehow manage to get to the new Turbo's game and corrupt him..then she got a few racers on her side using Turbo as a fear factor and eventually had a whole army of Sugar Rush racers on her side!" Vanellope said and the Twins nodded their heads, seeming to understand now.

"So honestly all we need to do is get Turbo away from Nelly, and then we can finish her!" Marshmallow said as he jumped for joy. Vanellope wanted to jump for joy as well; it seemed everything was making sense now. That Nelly truly was an evil Princess and that she didn't actually have the old Turbo with her like the arcade had believed that she was able to take over the new Turbo and some of the deleted racers and soon all of Sugar Rush. Knowing that she had manipulated the new Turbo seemed to make the Turbo Twins angry, but in the light of the situation it seemed to make her a little less frightening.

Before any of them could celebrate more, a scream was heard over the horizon and an electric shock shot up from the ground to the sky. Vanellope didn't hesitate a moment more before turning the Turbo kart towards the very direction and racing off towards it. "Vanellope that sounded like.." Marshmallow yelled over the engine, but Vanellope didn't need to be reminded who it sounded like. In her heart she knew exactly who it was.

* * *

"IT'S TURBO TIME!" Turbo screamed as he slammed his fist into Red's stomach, knocking him a few feet into the air and eventually had the poor boy crashing into the ground. Taffyta screamed and raced towards the boy who was wincing in pain uncontrollably. The two had been walking towards the castle, which was peaking up over the horizon, and were devising a plan to sneak into the castle in search of help or for Vanellope when out of the blue came Turbo smashing his fist into Red.

"R-run.." Red choked out as he looked over and saw Turbo slowly making his way towards the two, his helmet looked a little cracked and as he stepped closer and closer he cackled and the ground underneath his feet split. "I won't leave you behind Red, grab onto me!" Taffyta said as she tried to lift him up and carry him away from the evil being. "Taffyta.." Red winced out again trying in some weak attempt to get her to run, but Taffyta stood her ground.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Taffyta yelled out, glaring at Turbo and standing her ground. Turbo stopped dead in his tracks, only a step or two away from the girl and her nearly passed out friend. Taffyta noted that the being looked as if she had just slapped him in the face just by her words and was about to try again when she heard the roaring of an engine coming closer. Both Taffyta and Turbo looked out to find a red and white kart zooming towards them, smoke flying past as it did. Taffyta squinted her eyes and saw two blue looking characters, Marshmallow and Vanellope all going as fast as they could to the girl and her attacker.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta yelled out and she could feel tears coming down from her face, she could see Vanellope wave at her from the distance and she could've sworn she saw the girl smile the biggest smile just for her as well. Turbo hissed loudly and clenched his fists, electricity erupting from them and stood waiting for the kart to arrive.

"That's Turbo!" one of the Twins yelled and pointed to the ghastly creature, "But what's wrong with him?" the other cried as they took in their friends appearance for the first time. Turbo looked like a zombie to say the least, like a deceased racer brought back from the graveyard which was what Nelly probably wanted him to look like to really bring on the fear. Vanellope stopped the kart just before Turbo and jumped out, getting in between the villain and Taffyta. Marshmallow soon followed, holding his hands out to protect the girls and Red, but the Turbo Twins slowly got out and looked at their friend sadly with tears in their eyes.

"Turbo…" they said in unison and Turbo screamed so loud that the group had to cover their ears, Vanellope kept her eyes on Turbo making sure he wouldn't try and attack Taffyta if she let her guard down. The Turbo Twins continued to try and talk to their dear friend, seeing if they could somehow reach him. But when they took a step forward, Turbo let out another scream and disappeared, back to Nelly at the castle.

The Twins looked defeated then, sad to see their friend and what he had become. Vanellope relaxed and let her arms drop down to her sides, Marshmallow sighed loudly and was glad the intense moment was over. "He is on the evil side again.." the Twins said and looked sadly at Vanellope who equally looked sad back. "Don't give up hope, there's still a chance Nelly could be controlling him.." Marshmallow said and Vanellope nodded, trying to be positive. The Twins laughed bitterly but nodded, seeming to agree that there was still hope and that they had to give them that.

Vanellope turned to Taffyta than, who had laid Red down on the ground and was looking very confused at the Turbo Twins but jumped up to embrace Vanellope as soon as their eyes met. "Vanellope!" Taffyta cried and she squeezed her tight, Vanellope held her tightly as well and she could feel Taffyta's tears on her cheek. "I'm so sorry.." Vanellope cried, realizing how good it felt to be hugging the girl again. "I'm so sorry I got you..I deleted.." Vanellope said between sobs and Taffyta rubbed her back. "I'm fine, I'm still here aren't I?" she laughed and Vanellope did give her that.

Marshmallow went to hug Taffyta as well, not minding that he interrupted their moment. Eventually the three separated and Vanellope turned to the Turbo Twins who were staring at the castle and then back at Taffyta. "I'm happy you're here..but I thought you'd be on Nelly's side if you were deleted..?" Vanellope asked as she wiped away a tear, she knew Taffyta had to of been deleted, no one could have survived the crash she was in.

"I wasn't deleted…I.." Taffyta trailed off trying to find the right words, "I just regenerated somewhere else.." she stated and Vanellope's eyes widened along with Marshmallow. "You regenerated, where?" Marshmallow asked and Taffyta explained how she arrived atop Diet Cola Mountain, her journey trying not to be corrupted and how Red and her escaped when Nelly and the others so foolishly believed he had been corrupted. "Vanellope that means all of our friends weren't deleted either than!" Marshmallow rejoiced and Vanellope nodded in agreement, although she was frustrated with the details of how Nelly had so cruely treated her friends.

"All along Nelly's been fooling us all..to believe she is stronger than she actually is.." Vanellope said and clenched her fists, "We have to stop her..especially now that we realize what a fake she really is.". Taffyta, Marshmallow and the Turbo Twins all agreed, nodding their heads and feeling more confident now than ever before about facing Nelly. Red groaned as he lay there on the ground, gaining the attention of everyone there, "Vanellope.." he said as best he could, trying to regain his strength. "There is one problem with that…" he said and lifted himself up, looking the Princess in the eyes. "They've got more than just Nelly and Turbo on their team…they've also got Ralph."


	26. Fear

Vanellope's mind stopped and she felt her heart pick up in speed as she realized what Red had said, "Ralph…?" Vanellope asked as if she hadn't heard him right. Red nodded and, with the help of Marshmallow and Taffyta, stood up clutching his stomach. Vanellope swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head, showing that she understood. Nelly had been evil, truly evil; she wanted Vanellope to feel her wrath and to be effected by it.

She had controlled her kart to delete the girl she loved, she had destroyed the candy villages and now she took control over Ralph. Nelly was making this personal, deeply personal. "Well, it looks like we've got quite a battle ahead of us.." Vanellope laughed, trying not to sound so upset. Taffyta quickly took her hand and held onto it, tight, showing the girl through that little moment that she wasn't alone. "We can do it Vanellope, we'll get Ralph back." Taffyta stated and Vanellope nodded, believing the girls words.

"How do you suppose we do that, I've heard of this Ralph…he's a tough guy." The Turbo Twins said as they entered the conversation, they were sulking earlier for their friend Turbo and feeling sorry for both themselves and for him, but now they seemed to get out of their funk and only had rage left for destroying this evil villain Nelly. "Ralph is a tough guy, but he's a good guy at heart…we just have to get through to him.." Vanellope said, Taffyta and Marshmallow agreeing with her.

"All we have to do is try and convince him to come back..if he has a reason to be good and to not be afraid of Nelly and her evil ways..he'll come back." Red stated and the group looked at him curiously. "It's why Taffyta wasn't changed..she had reasons to be good, she remembered those and was able to stay on the side of good, reason why I didn't change either…" Red explained further while the rest of the group listened. "But why did the other's change so easily than, why did they go to the side of evil?" Marshmallow asked and looked up at Vanellope who shrugged her shoulders.

"My only guess is that they were afraid…" Vanellope simply said, causing the group to grow silent as they figured the matter. "Regardless…we know the source of your villain's power, fear…" one of the Turbo Twins stated and the other nodded, "We will have to bring your friends back, together, and remind them that they have no reason to be afraid..that will be the way we can defeat this evil Nelly.".

It was decided; the group would have to go into the castle, arms swinging, and try and take back their friends from the evil Princess Nelly. It was possible that Nelly could easily overcome them, that they would be corrupted and that she would rule Sugar Rush again through her trickery and fear. But Vanellope knew that as long as she had Marshmallow, Taffyta and all of her friends at her side, nothing could stop her from trying.

"Then let's go already!" Marshmallow beamed and ran to the kart, hoping inside. The Turbo Twins quickly followed while Vanellope helped Taffyta move Red to the kart as well. The space inside the kart was cramped and they all had to squeeze in to make room for them all, but eventually they were off and down the road to the famous Sugar Rush Castle.

* * *

Turbo came crashing inside the castle, knocking over several Oreo guards as he did and making a terrible noise out of his frustration. Ralph immediately tensed, getting ready to fight, but upon seeing that it was only Turbo relaxed and turned to Nelly for any other commands. Nelly scowled terribly at the being and watched as he fought with himself in the center of the throne room before sighing and descending the throne towards him.

"You have been so helpful up until now…" she stated and rolled her eyes as he screamed at her. "Why now are you choosing to fight the darkness that's inside your heart?" she questioned and Turbo fell to his knees and looked up at the girl. His helmet was starting to glow a bright white and his suit seemed to be a little less torn than before. But as Nelly touched him he immediately went back to the ghoul like look he had before, "You are so weak…" she snickered and turned away from him towards Ralph. "You however are strong, I need you as my second in line…" she commented, smiling at the large character.

Turbo spoke and Nelly turned towards him, "You have no right to be my second in line when you have failed me so…I asked for Taffyta…where is she?" Nelly asked and Turbo turned away, whispering something else. Nelly flinched and looked at him, her glare etching into his skin. "What was that?" she asked and Turbo spoke again, louder this time. Nelly's breath was caught and she seemed startled for the first time in weeks, but she quickly smiled and turned away from the being to conceal her worry.

"So Vanellope is on her way to the castle…with my love Taffyta…" she said, laughing at the foolishness of the girls. "Fine, let them come…I'd like to see them try and beat me again.". Turbo whispered something else and Nelly turned towards him, her eyes filled with anger. "Why are they here?!" she yelled, her voice echoing throughout the throne room. Guards flinched and some of the racers stopped what they were doing to see why someone had upset their ruler. Nelly looked around and immediately became enraged, "I DID NOT COMMAND YOU TO STOP!" she screamed, her voice sounding inhuman. The castle buzzed alive again, fearful that their Princess would somehow make them pay for their foolish ways.

"RALPH!" she screamed and Ralph quickly approached her, ready for orders. "Ralph, I command you protect the castle and your Princess from the intruders…Vanellope Von Schweetz and her group." She demanded and Ralph nodded, immediately beating his chest with his fists and screaming loudly as he took off towards the entrance.

Nelly clenched her fists and turned towards Turbo, "You will pay for your actions…" she said as she shot her hand out at him and shocked him furiously his body collapsing to the ground. As soon as the being fell, a dark cloud lifted from his body and went to Nelly, engulfing her. It could be seen that her face was twisted along with her body, bending to the matter that had surrounded her. In that next second it completely filled her and formed to her body, taking in whatever had left Turbo.

Nelly sighed and smiled evily, "Welcome back.." she laughed and looked out at the racers and guards who were working so hard on the castle. "We will need to get rid of them…it's too risky to have Vanellope see them." She said, nodding at herself. "Right…will do." And Nelly snapped her fingers, immediately causing every soul in that room aside herself and Turbo to disappear, transported to another place of her choosing. "We cannot fail…I hope you remember this, chose wisely in these next hours Nelly.." Nelly said, although her voice now was sounding inhumanly different. "Of course, I know exactly what I am doing.".

* * *

The castle was only a few feet away for the heroic group now, Marshmallow pointed as he saw the Castle doors unguarded and open for them to simply walk in. "Nelly must have them off doing her bidding, that's going to be her biggest mistake yet!" the little treat laughed but Vanellope and the others weren't so sure. "This is Nelly we're talking about Marsh.." Vanellope said as she slowed the kart down before the Castle steps, "She's up to something..".

Vanellope slowly stepped out of the kart and walked up the steps, not waiting for anyone in the kart to follow. "Vanellope!" Taffyta called as she tried to scramble out, but stopped as she saw Vanellope hold out a hand at the group. She wanted to test the stairs and see if Nelly had any traps waiting for them or guards ready to pop out of nowhere at any given moment. But as she reached the top of the stairs and still nothing happened, Vanellope turned back to give the thumbs up to the group of hero's and beckoned them forward.

"What, so Nelly is that confident that she doesn't even…" Marshmallow began to say but the sound of loud booming noises interrupted him. Vanellope shook as the ground moved underneath her and she turned to the doorway of the castle crashing open and Ralph breaking through, screaming "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!". Vanellope screamed and ducked underneath the large pieces of candy door flying everywhere.

Taffyta dodged a few as well, grabbing Marshmallow and tumbling to the floor. The Turbo Twins were hit by a few pieces but ultimately were okay while Red hid inside the kart to protect himself from a large piece that was aimed right at his head. No sooner had the group recovered from the large blast were they hit with another and then another. Ralph had spot the intruders and was relentless at picking up pieces of the Castle and chucking it at them, purposefully trying to harm them the best way he could.

"Ralph stop, it's your friends!" Taffyta cried and dodged another flying piece of candy that Ralph flung at her. "WRECK IT!" Ralph screamed again and bashed his hands into the ground, causing the group to lose their footing and fall and stumble over themselves. "Ralph please, don't let Nelly control you!" Marshmallow yelped, having tripped over a destroyed piece of Castle walls and bumped his head. Ralph took the opportunity to bring a particularly large piece of rubble over his head and aim it right on top of Marshmallow.

Vanellope darted towards Marshmallow and glitched as she grabbed him, just in time, falling away from the attack. Vanellope glitched again as Ralph threw another piece of door at her and a third time when he picked up another to hurt Taffyta. This assault on the group was never ending and Vanellope soon grew tired and her muscles ached from the dodging and glitching she was doing. "Vanellope we need a new plan!" The Turbo Twins yelled in unison as they raced out of the way of Ralph's fist. Vanellope agreed with them, but how was she going to devise a new one right then and there?

Just then she heard the engine click on from Turbo's kart, "Hey!" Red called, he was sitting in the kart with his foot down on the gas and his one hand on the wheel, a piece of doorway in his hand. Red quickly threw the rubble at Ralph's head which immediately smashed to pieces, gaining the attention of the beast that Red needed. "Let's race loser!" he laughed and hit the gas, shooting off in the direction of the rainbow bridge.

Ralph screamed and chased after the boy and the kart, forgetting his duties at the castle and only thinking about his rage. Vanellope watched as they went and started to chase after them on foot but was stopped by the Twins. "He needs our help, both of them do!" Vanellope said as she watched Ralph and Red disappear out of sight. "He did that to get Ralph away from us…so we could stop Nelly, don't put his heroic actions to shame.." they said and started to climb the castle steps, that were now littered with broken doorway and walls. Vanellope went to argue but realized they were right and although it pained her to walk away from her two friends, one on the side of evil and the other on the side of good, she ascended after the Twins up and into the castle with Taffyta and Marshmallow following closely behind.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't go inside?" Felix complained as he stamped his foot down at the Oreo guards protecting their own game portal. The Oreo guards seemed a little off that day, and rather moody, but what was really strange was how they wouldn't allow Felix nor Calhoun in the game of Sugar Rush. "We are doing updates in our game, you walking in now would only be a problem.." One of the guards stated and clenched harder onto their weapons.

The other guard nodded and stuck their nose in the air at the two, "We've asked you more than enough times, leave or face the consequences!" he hollered. The arcade all seemed to notice the little spat in front of Sugar Rush and slowed down as they walked around the lobby that evening, being nosey, but no one seemed to care enough to stop and assess the situation.

"Fine..you see Ralph, tell him Felix is looking for him!" Felix commanded and turned away, stomping off towards his own game with Calhoun in tow. "I've never seen you get so angry, geeze you think finding a giant ape man would be easy around here?" Calhoun laughed and Felix had to smile at his wife's silly words. The guards were honestly lucky she didn't add her two cents to the matter, an angry Calhoun was hard to calm down. But the duo knew if they caused problems and started a fight in the center of the lobby, that they would be the ones found wrong or in trouble since they were the ones trying to invade another game for their own personal reasons. "Ralph knows not to go wandering off during arcade times again..I was hopeful he might be with Vanellope, but with tough guards like that..it's hard to believe even Ralph got past them!" Felix said, sounding annoyed.

Calhoun looked at the guards than at Felix, scratching her chin. "Something's wrong with those guards, they don't seem cheerful and dopey like they normally do.." Calhoun questioned and Felix had to agree with her. Normally the guards were silly and animated like; they hardly ever took things super serious. "I wonder what's going on in there…." Felix wondered, looking up at the sign that read a bright color of 'Sugar Rush'.


	27. Decisions

Vanellope, The Turbo Twins, Tafftya and Marshmallow all raced down the hallway leading to the throne room. The group looked worn, tired, and honestly nothing like hero's they were hoping to be, but in their hearts they had determination and drive that was ready to be put to the test. They were ready to face Nelly, to finally end the evil Princess that had plagued their land.

Crashing through the door, Vanellope was surprised to not be met with Guards nor Racers, or any force at all from anyone. The group had arrived to a seemingly quiet, empty, room. "Augh!" Vanellope hollered and the group turned towards her, thinking she had seen Nelly or worse Turbo. "It's pink again!" Vanellope whined and pointed at the walls, showing the group the disgusting color of pink that lined the walls, carpet, and furniture. Taffyta sighed and hit the girl on the arm, "Seriously, we can fix it later!" she yelled and Vanellope sighed, still pouting as they walked further into the large pink throne room.

As they wandered to the middle of the room they noticed someone lying on the ground, unconscious and breathing steadily. The Turbo Twins urged the group to be careful as they slowly walked up to the body, worried it may be a trap. But as they moved closer and closer, they looked down to see that it was none other than Turbo lying asleep on the floor.

"Turbo!" The Twin's cried in unison and went to their friend on the floor, trying to shake him awake, and moving him so that he was lying face upwards. Turbo looked different, different than Vanellope had ever seen him. He didn't look evil nor did he look like he was angry at all, he looked as if he was just a simple character. His clothes were a perfect white and red, along with his helmet, there was nothing ghostly or other-worldly about him that would make anyone in the group assume that he was a part of Nelly's team at all.

"What happened..?" Marshmallow began to ask but a loud laugh pierced through the air, causing the group to flinch and look around at the throne room for its location. "Turbo was a good dummy to have…but he was much too weak, I had to get rid of him now that I have somebody else to do my dirty work." Nelly said as she appeared on the throne in front of the group looking as evil as she normally did.

Vanellope clenched her fists as her eyes made contact with her other half, "Nelly…" she spat out, as if her words were laced with poison. Nelly seemed to enjoy that Vanellope hated her so and smiled back at her, "Vanellope.." she said back and the two glared at each other with anger. "All along you were tricking us, you made the whole kingdom turn against me and you used the new Turbo to make everyone believe that the old one was back…when in fact you were behind it!" Vanellope yelled, causing Nelly to laugh again.

"Bravo…" Nelly said as she clapped her hands together and started to descend the steps towards the group, "You figured it all out.." Nelly chuckled as she looked off to the side, "In fact..I'd say you're about ninety five percent correct.". Vanellope froze and looked at Taffyta as she looked back at her, only ninety five percent correct? Vanellope thought she had figured the whole plan out, now they had found they had missed a crucial detail to the plans. The group was eerily quiet as they waited for Nelly to explain, expecting the worse.

Nelly continued, "You see I did trick the new Turbo, I did take over the racers using him, and I did eventually gain control of Sugar Rush because of this…". Nelly smiled and her eyes glowed a deep yellow, "But I didn't bring the deleted racers back…I didn't grant myself the power of the red and white kart…I didn't defeat Princess Taffyta alone…in fact, I had help from..a dear friend." She stated and her face started to melt away, morphing into another beings face. Vanellope took a step back and grabbed for Taffyta's hand, already realizing what Nelly was becoming. "You see..when I was deleted, I wasn't strong enough to come back on my own..so I relied on the power that helped me destroy Princess Taffyta back when I was banished from racing..back when I became a locked character.." Nelly's voice was switching back and forth between the other beings to her own, giving her an almost inhuman tone to her voice, "I was able to come back because of my dear friend's power, together we were able to find the new Turbo..to allow him to take control, and bring the deleted racers back..to finish our plans.."

"No..it can't be him.." The Turbo Twins said softly, "He was gone, he was destroyed!". Nelly cackled and her face was completely replaced, twisting to change completely into Turbo's, the old Turbo. "Well that's the problem I suppose, I came back." He laughed and sent a shockwave towards the Twins and the new Turbo. Vanellope went to try and push them out of the way, but was too late as they were immediately sent flying backwards. The twins screamed and hit the ground hard, as well as their friend Turbo, and were immediately deleted.

"No!" Vanellope cried and fell to her knees, little sparks whizzed past her as the remaining residents of their pixelated bodies floated by. Nelly and Turbo laughed inhumanly as they watched Vanellope's failed attempt to save her friends, "Oh dearest Vanellope…don't you realize by now that you're just not strong enough to defeat us..even with your friends.." they said together.

"That's not true!" Marshmallow yelled and the evil being glared at the little treat, "I have faith in Vanellope, she will defeat you!" he cried and stamped his foot down. Vanellope stood and moved closer to the treat, ready to protect him if Turbo and Nelly tried to erase him from this world like they had just done to the Turbo Twins. "I have faith in Vanellope too, Turbo…Nelly, you're days at Sugar Rush are over!" Taffyta said, moving closer to Vanellope and squeezing her hand tightly.

The Nelly side of the two seemed irritated and scowled at them, "If you have so much faith in her…than I guess it shouldn't be a problem then if we race?" Nelly asked and Vanellope gave her an odd look. "Race?" she questioned, not letting her guard down and making sure to be ready to duck if the girl was to suddenly attack. "Yes, Vanellope Von Schweetz…race, you and me on the racetrack..you do remember my offer?" Nelly and Turbo asked.

Vanellope did remember, the first time she ever saw Nelly again after the deleting. The girl had offered her a race, the winner basically getting everything. Taffyta quickly stepped forward before Vanellope or Nelly and Turbo could get another word in, "If Vanellope does race, than she should be allowed a partner..you have two people on your side, she should have two as well!" she commanded. Nelly and Turbo laughed saying, "Fine, what does one more person matter to us?", and awaited the girls answer. Nelly's side of control over their body got ready to snap their fingers to transport them to whatever track they were going to use.

"I'll race with you then.." Taffyta said and looked into Vanellope's eyes, smiling softly at her. Vanellope looked back but instead of feeling comfort from the girls words, she felt sadness and worry for her. She couldn't allow the girl to be deleted again, or in harm's way because of Vanellope's foolish decisions. Vanellope looked down at Marshmallow who seemed to be thinking the same as her and grabbed the girl's hand, nodding at her with approval.

Vanellope than took a step away from her, pulling Marshmallow with her, and looked at the girl sadly. Taffyta looked confused at first and went to reach for her hand, but the girl pulled away. "Vanellope I'm going with you…" she stated but Vanellope shook her head, causing the pink racer to frown. "Vanellope..we were going to do this together, we can beat them.." she explained but Vanellope wasn't going to hear any of it. "I let you get deleted one time before; I won't let that happen again…" Vanellope said and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips. The girl returned the soft sweet kiss but was confused until she saw the girl take another step away and turn towards Nelly and Turbo.

"I have chosen my partner, Marshmallow and I will race you Nelly, Turbo!" Vanellope said and the evil being snapped their fingers causing a bright light to flare in the center of the throne room, pulling Vanellope and Marshmallow in along with Nelly and Turbo. Taffyta held out her hand to Vanellope, "Vanellope no!" she cried as she watched the girl start to fly inwards towards the light. "Stay sweet, Taffyta." Vanellope yelled and was sucked completely into the light which immediately disappeared.

Taffyta was left then, alone, in the throne room. The only noise that could be heard was the soft creaking of the castle and the cries of Taffyta as she whispered, "Stay sweet, Vanellope."


	28. Racing for Sugar Rush

Vanellope felt her body twist and turn as they flew through the light, she refused to let go of Marshmallow's hand as their bodies beat against the sides of the portal and flung them up and around. Eventually the light broke and Vanellope found herself standing on the Sugar Rush Speedway, the sky was dark and everything looked cracked and horrific looking. "This is my own personal Sugar Rush Speedway…" Nelly said as she stood next to Turbo's kart, her face looked like her own again and Vanellope wondered where Turbo had gone to before the being stepped out from behind Nelly and smiled evilly at her.

The two must have separated themselves just for this particular race although it didn't matter to Vanellope whether they were together or not, she intended on defeating them regardless. "This Speedway is like a graveyard kind of the normal Sugar Rush Speedway, but don't worry its not very different." Nelly laughed and got into Turbo's kart, behind Turbo who was already seating himself.

Vanellope looked down at Marsh who nodded and turned to find their kart, immediately Vanellope's kart arrived as if she had called it there to assist her. It was just as she remembered it to the very fine details of Vanellope and Taffyta's names on the side. Vanellope rubbed her hand over the names as she got into her kart, Marshmallow behind her. "The rules are simple, one lap around, first one at the finish wins." Nelly stated and Turbo clicked the engine on. The two heroes wanted to argue about the one lap, but upon seeing the demon track they realized it may as well be one as it was surprisingly very long. Vanellope clicked on her kart but turned as she heard a large revving noise behind her.

As she turned, Vanellope gasped as she was met with several other racers all in their karts and ready to race. Ran, Snowana, Rainbeu, Mark, Swizzle, Gloyd, and everyone else from Sugar Rush was there preparing for the race in their karts, even some of the Oreo guards were behind their makeshift karts. "You cheater!" Marshmallow yelled and pointed at Nelly, "This wasn't in the agreement!". Nelly turned and looked back at the two; "I never said there would be other racers in other karts racing us as well?" she said innocently and turned back towards the track.

Vanellope grabbed the wheel as hard as she could, not wanting to be discouraged from the size of the enemy right now. "Get ready, Marsh.." she said as she started the engine and pulled the kart up towards Nelly and Turbo's, waiting for the start of the race. Marshmallow lowered himself into the seat and prepared himself for the race, the race that would either save Sugar Rush or destroy it. They had to defeat Nelly and Turbo, it was there last chance.

The engines all roared alive as the timer started to sink down from ten. Vanellope remembered her friends all counting on her, the ones behind her that were being corrupted and the ones back in Sugar Rush that were fighting for her. Taffyta was waiting for her back at the castle, Vanellope couldn't lose. As long as Vanellope had them in her heart, she knew she wouldn't.

Five, four, three, two, one….before Vanellope could even process hitting the gas, Turbo and Nelly shot off and were already a good distance away. Vanellope hit the gas and sped off towards them, leaving the other racers behind and trying to catch up to the evil crew. "Vanellope I can't even see them anymore!" Marshmallow cried, trying to eye the two ahead of them. Vaguely they could see the kart, but as they tried to speed they realized they weren't gaining any track on them.

"We're going to lose!" Vanellope thought and hit the gas all the way down, still not gaining a single foot ahead. To make matters worse the other racers were gaining on them fast, hitting them with their karts as they sped by. Vanellope twisted her kart, trying to avoid the blows, but evidently just had to let them continue to beat at her precious kart destroying it piece by piece.

Marshmallow sunk low beneath the seat as he felt the kart being rammed once more and could hear a tire popping. "Vanellope, please!" he cried and looked up to her with pleading eyes. Vanellope clutched the steering wheel and started to glitch, frustrated with the attacks. As she did she realized how her glitching could be beneficial, she realized she could use it to get her ahead or at least to get away from this trial of the track. Focusing hard on her power, she allowed it to flow completely through her and glitch through her kart.

At first she was only able to avoid some small attacks from the other racers, but soon she found herself shooting forward and away from the racers at lightning speed. Some of the racers zoomed ahead, trying to catch up to her, but quickly fell behind as Vanellope's glitching couldn't be matched with their regular racing speed.

When Vanellope could no longer see anyone ahead nor behind her, she ceased her glitching and relaxed her muscles a bit and just driving. "Vanellope..how are we going to catch up?" Marshmallow asked, looking down to the tire which was ripping apart. Normally in any other racing situation, Vanellope's kart would have just regenerated. But she figured with this graveyard Sugar Rush Speedway that they weren't going to allow her that decency.

"Dang it.." Vanellope said, trying to continue her speed, but failing as the kart started to slow because of the broken tire. She felt the weight of everyone's disappointment upon her shoulders; Taffytas, her friends, the whole entire Sugar Rush community, and even the arcade. She was losing to not only her villain Nelly but the arcades villain Turbo. "I won't allow myself to lose, I promised this to my friend.." she thought and closed her eyes as she drove. "Please, I need a new kart…I can do this, I just need this chance!".

At first, nothing happened and Vanellope was worried that her wishes had been ungranted and that she would indeed lose to the tyrants. But then her kart began to glow and Vanellope felt the cold, metal feeling she had felt before when she was driving Turbo's kart. When she opened her eyes she looked down to see that she was indeed inside Turbo's kart now, driving at an amazing speed. Marshmallow looked amazed at what had just happened and eyed the bright machine up and down, "How..did this happen?" he cried.

Vanellope hit the gas, hard, gaining even more inhuman speed. "Because we needed it..and it came just in time." She stated, zooming down the track and leading up towards a now annoyed looking Turbo and Nelly riding in Vanellope's broken kart. They were still going at an amazing speed, due to Turbo's amazing kart driving skills, but were not doing as well as Vanellope and Marshmallow. "Give me back my kart!" Nelly hollered and held her hand out to the kart, calling upon it with her mind. But the kart refused to leave Vanellope's side and continued to drive for her, seeing that she was in more need of it than the owner Turbo or Nelly.

The track suddenly started to ascend, Marshmallow and Vanellope realized that they were going higher and looked down to see that the track was literally curving into a bridge. Below the remaining track was getting farther away from them and Vanellope gulped, not enjoying the heights. "Just get around this turn Vanellope, then we'll make the way down..and to the finish line!" Marshmallow hollered over the engine as he surveyed the ground below and the track as it wound about.

Vanellope and Marsh were making good ground and if things continued to go as well as they were going, they would win. After they won the race they wouldn't even need to figure how to uncorrupt their friends, defeating Nelly and Turbo should undo everything they had done. Vanellope felt giddy with excitement as they neared the end of the giant winding bridge, soon she would have Sugar Rush back and everything would be right again. She just had one more turn, one more track, one more race to win.

But as she turned she spotted Turbo giving her a wicked grin, "I don't think so, little girl!" he yelled and slammed the kart, hard, into Vanellope and Marshmallow. Vanellope was so taken off guard that by the time she realized they were heading towards the edge, it was too late. The kart skidded and then flew off the side of the bridge, tumbling into the air.

"Ahh!" Vanellope screamed as the sinking feeling of weightlessness took over her, Marshmallow and the kart as they tumbled through the air. The wind pierced her skin and caused her eyes to burn wherever she tried to look. Marshmallow even started to float up and out of the kart as they fell, slipping out of his seatbelt. Vanellope quickly grabbed onto him, hoping that somehow the brave move had helped him.

Below the ground and the track was coming up fast and Vanellope was again out of options. "Marshmallow, this is it!" she cried and looked at the treat in his deep blue eyes. Marshmallow had small little droplets of tears falling out of his eyes as he stared back at Vanellope. The two knew they were doomed and it was shown as they stared helplessly at the other's face, hoping by some miracle that they'd be saved.

Vanellope remembered how she had felt the same helplessness falling off of Diet Cola Mountain and being saved at the last minute by Taffyta. She recalled lots of times Taffyta had saved her life along with several other friends like Red, Ralph, even Taffyta's copy. But this time it was just her and Marsh, this time she had nobody else to come to her rescue. "I can't give up.." Vanellope thought, "I have to keep going, for Sugar Rush…I will beat Turbo and Nelly, we have to!".

"Vanellope.." a voice called, distant yet loud enough for the Princess to hear. Vanellope's eyes filled with light and she squinted trying to shield them from being blinded. "Vanellope…" the voice called out again and Vanellope looked around, wondering where on earth she could have heard it from. "Vanellope, please…" it called again, still causing Vanellope to search for its source.

"It's me Vanellope, please use my power to help you…" she said again and Vanellope realized who it was. "Taffyta's…copy?" she asked out loud, searching for the girls copy, "Where are you?". Marshmallow eyed Vanellope as they fell, he could see her talking to someone but he could neither hear nor see the voice. "Vanellope who is it?" the little treat called, but his small voice couldn't reach the teal racer. Vanellope heard a giggle, eerily similar to Taffyta's and then it spoke again. "I'm here..just not how I know you'd like me to be, I'm still deleted.." she said softly and Vanellope felt her heart rip in two. "But I can still help you, I can still grant you my power…just this once before I'm completely gone.." she added and Vanellope swallowed hard. How the girl was here talking to Vanellope was beyond the poor Princess, she recalled several times she had seen her over the various weeks and questioned the same thing. Yet here she was, offering her assistance, but still unable to come back to the land of Sugar Rush.

"But that's not fair..you can't come back, but Nelly.." Vanellope tried to choke out but ultimately failed as she felt tears spill out of her. "Nelly came back because of darker reasons..you know I couldn't do that, I wouldn't allow myself to come back that way." Taffyta's copy stated and Vanellope tried to understand. "I know this is hard, making these decisions is hard Vanellope..that's why I am here to help you, along with your friends." Taffyta's copy said, sounding like she was smiling, "I hope that this reaches you…use it to win Vanellope.".

As soon as Taffyta's voice disappeared Vanellope felt her kart shake uncontrollably as well as her body, glitching out of control. A light appeared in front of them and started forming what looked to be a green semi broken track that the kart bounced up and down on top of. At first it looked as if the track would simply glitch in and out, eventually deleting and leaving the two to fall to their doom. But as Vanellope continued to hold on and control the glitched up road, it started to steady and allow her to maneuver and form towards the ground on a smooth path.

Marshmallow looked on in awe as they approached the ground on this glitched green road, "How are you doing this?" Marshmallow asked and looked down as they were approaching the finish line well before Turbo and Nelly. Vanellope smiled and looked at Marshmallow but was too focused on this tedious task for words; instead she hit the gas on the kart and sped up towards the finish line.

Nelly and Turbo watched on in horror as Vanellope rode what looked like a clear green, pixelated road above the track they were driving on. "Hurry up you fool!" Nelly screamed and yanked at Turbo's neck, trying to get him to go faster. Turbo growled in anger and sped forward as fast as he could, trying to make it in time. But just as they were about to finish, Vanellope's glitched road shot her swiftly through the finish line, defeating Turbo and Nelly.

The road immediately broke and disappeared as they went through the finish line, slamming them onto the ground. Vanellope held on, trying to control the kart as it spun onto the solid ground. Marshmallow held tightly onto the girl, worried they'd crash after their glorious victory, but smiled as the kart came to a complete stop and the two were completely unharmed.

Vanellope got out of the kart, grabbing onto Marshmallow and spinning him around; "We won!" she cried and held him close. The Marshmallow squealed with joy and embraced his dear friend Vanellope. No sooner had Vanellope, Marshmallow, Turbo and Nelly arrived at the finish line, the racers all zoomed in and looked rather confused. Some were starting to lose their reddish glow to their eyes and some even had their human skin tones back.

Nelly looked back and forth at the racers who were coming to and screamed, "No, I refuse to lose…I am the winner, you're the loser!" she cried and pointed at Vanellope. Before Vanellope could get another word in, she watched as the world around them started to slowly change from a graveyard, dark looking place to a bright blue sky along with a beautiful candy filled track. Soon the colors changed completely and Vanellope realized they were back in Sugar Rush, at the Sugar Rush Speedway. Vanellope smiled down at Marshmallow, winning the race had reset Sugar Rush again and hopefully all the damage that was done to it.

"No, my graveyard!" Nelly cried and threw herself onto the ground, crying and throwing a complete fit. The racers all arrived next to Vanellope, confused and still partially corrupted, wondering why their leader was acting so childish. "I'm not the loser, I'm not!" she screamed and looked at Vanellope, "Die you jerk!". Vanellope flinched as Nelly stood up and shot her hand at the girl, expecting electricity to flow from the villains hand and at the girl.

When nothing had happened, Nelly tried again. She tried again, and again until she was practically throwing her hands at Vanellope's face, trying to get anything to come out and electrify the girl. "Why isn't it working?" Nelly cried, looking at her hands. It was only then did she realize that her hand was becoming see through, that she was starting to fade out of existence. "No…" Nelly whispered as she looked upon Vanellope with horror and then turned to Turbo who was simply smiling his evil smile, "Don't you remember Nelly…our agreement?" he laughed. Nelly sank down to her knees and stared up at Vanellope, "I can't…I can't be the loser, you're the loser..not me..I have to win!" the ex-Princess cried, grabbing onto Vanellope's arm. Vanellope stared down at the broken girl, trying to understand the girls ways, "Everyone's got to be a loser sometime Nelly, this time you're the loser.." Vanellope said as Nelly completely disappeared out of existence forever.


	29. I never lose

"Stupid Princess.." Nelly said as she pushed her way through the broken peppermint tree's and other assorted candies that riddled through this interesting forest. She had been wandering around Sugar Rush for weeks now, trying to avoid Sugar Rush racers and other citizens since her unlockable feature. Taffyta just didn't understand, even after all their time together the girl was still foolish to think that Candy citizens belonged in Sugar Rush and as the same status as the racers. It made her sick, sick to think that she had fallen for such a weak person.

She was betrayed and now she refused to go back, swallowing her pride, to say she was wrong. She'd rather be deleted then to say she was wrong, she couldn't allow them to have that over her. Nelly was deep within her thoughts, coming close towards the edge of the forest and towards the edge of a large incline, when she suddenly felt the ground underneath her cave in and soon she found herself slipping and tumbling down inside a canyon looking area. She hit the ground, hard, completely dazed and too annoyed to pick herself up again.

"Stupid…annoying people.." she cried and felt foolish to feel tears grace her eyes. It was dark inside this canyon and Nelly wasn't sure how she could get back up to where she was before she fell. "Hello?" Nelly yelled, hoping someone could possibly hear her. She knew she was much too far for anyone to actually come to her rescue, which only annoyed her worse.

"I hate this game…I should be the Princess, that way people would respect me when I win all the time." She laughed and another voice laughed with her. Nelly quickly got up and faced the voice who was laughing only seconds ago, "Whose there?" she demanded to know and looked back and forth in the darkness, trying to find the voice.

"I'm sorry…did I startle you?" the voice asked and Nelly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, "What do you want?" she demanded again, the last thing she needed was some weirdo messing with her head. The voice chuckled and Nelly could hear it take a step closer, "I just overheard you saying you wanted to be the Princess…well I can make that happen." The voice said and Nelly raised her eyebrow.

"Oh really, how?" Nelly laughed, obviously not convinced. The voice took another step forward and Nelly could almost see an outline of the person, "Challenge the Princess to a race, if you win..you are automatically ruler of Sugar Rush." The voice explained. Nelly knew these terms, but had forgotten all about them prior to the voices reminder. "No one has ever challenged the Princess, it's forbidden." Nelly stated, remembering her rules.

The voice laughed loudly, "Since when have you followed the rules..?" it questioned and Nelly grew nervous. The voice was eerie sounding, unsafe, like talking to it was a gamble on her safety. "How do you know anything about me..show yourself now!" she commanded, ready to fight the voice if she needed. The voice was quiet then and Nelly believed it had gone away, fearful of her. When a minute had gone by and still the voice had not spoken Nelly took a step forward, curiously. "I have never followed the rules, which is why I always win…why I am always great."

The being stepped closer, showing himself to Nelly for the first time. He looked like a demon to her or possibly death itself, still she smiled. "Can you help me become the Princess?" she asked and the being nodded, cackling, his eyes glowing a bright yellow. Nelly smiled and scratched her head, trying to think, "I'm sure this isn't a free deal…what's the catch?" she asked feeling rather confident. The being closed his eyes and opened them, seeming pleased with the girls response. "The only catch is…if I help you become Princess of Sugar Rush, you will have to race." He said smiling boldly at the girl, "If you race you must never lose…if you lose you will pay a very large debt."

Nelly smiled evilly at the being and said, "I never lose."


	30. Bittersweet ending

Red glared at Ralph as he stood over him, his hands raised over his head and ready to attack. The kart Red tried to escape Ralph was suddenly taken from him, mid run, and he had been spending the time running as fast as his broken body would allow him to. This was it, Red was cornered, right there on the Rainbow road with this giant man about to attack him. Red laughed and closed his eyes, "I didn't see this in my future.." he thought bitterly. "At least..I'm not the bad guy with this ending..".

Ralph screamed loudly and went to smash his hands into the little racer, intending on deleting him for good, but stopped just before his fist made contact with the racers head. Red let out a large breath he had been holding and his knees started to quiver as he watched the character's eyes fade back to normal color and his dark black hair change back to brown. Ralph took a large breath in and took a step back, "Whats…going on here?" he asked, seeming deeply confused and looking at Red.

Red could only sigh and smile saying, "Looks like Vanellope won."

* * *

The castle started to shake and Taffyta fell to the floor, worried it might actually be falling apart from Ralph's prior rampage. But as she looked up she noticed the the door to the hallway was repairing itself as well as the hallway, fixing itself from when Ralph had crashed through it. Taffyta stood up and started walking towards the front entrance, making sure to take her time so she wouldn't fall down again.

Taffyta was amazed to find the doorway just as large and beautiful as it always had been, fixing itself just in time for her to open it and observe the beautiful normal Sugar Rush. "Vanellope.." Taffyta said as tears drifted down her face, "Marshmallow and her won.." she cried.

* * *

"Alright get moving!" the Oreo guard hollered, pushing people towards the edge of the boat where they were being dropped off to the Island. The popcorn family was next in line when the guard twitched suddenly and his red eyes started to change back to a dark black, Pa looked at him curiously and took a step back with his family at his side. "Where am I…?" The Oreo guard questioned, the other Oreo guards looked equally lost as well and started to move the candy citizens back onto the boat.

"Uh, everyone back on the boat…we need to get you guys home!" one called out and Jo looked up at her Pa happily, "Pa…we're going home!" she said and threw her arms around him happily. Pa squeezed her tight and watched as the candies filled the boat, whooping and hollering with joy. "Yes, we are heading home…thanks to Vanellope."

* * *

The racers were all rejoicing with one another as Vanellope and Marshmallow descended upon them, hugging and celebrating with them. Copies and racers were joined together again, remembering their trials and the events of Nelly's wrath. Even Gloyd could be seen happily embracing his companion Rancis along with his copy Ran. Everything seemed back to normal again as Sugar Rush was restored back to its original setting, Vanellope looked upon all of the karts as they seemed to magically twist and crack back to their old designs, no longer looking ghoulish.

Each racer and copy hopped into their kart and sped off towards the castle, cheering for their Princess Vanellope and her friend Marshmallow for saving Sugar Rush again. The only ones left back at the race track were Vanellope and Marshmallow, along with Turbo's kart. "Well we better head back as well Vanellope, don't wanna miss the celebration!" Marshmallow laughed and Vanellope nodded, ready to just relax back at her castle.

Before the two could reach Turbo's kart and head towards home, they heard a small voice behind them. "Princess.." Sticky said as Vanellope turned to look at the girl, she was partially see through and she was joined by several other racers whom Vanellope thought would be back in the land of the living. Unfortunately they seemed to still be deleted. "Princess, we wanted to say thank you…" Sticky said as Nougestia, Torvald, Citrusella, and Adorabeezle all nodded their heads.

"There's no need to thank me, I would do anything for Sugar Rush..but why are you guys all see through, aren't you coming with us?" Vanellope said and the girl's all laughed. "We actually..can't" Torvald said and Vanellope gave her a curious look. Then it hit her, they were only brought back because of Turbo and Nelly, now that they were gone the girls would have to leave too. "I…I'm so.." Vanellope began to say but Sticky held up her hand and shook her head saying, "Don't worry Princess..it was a pleasure being here with you..but we understand, sacrifices had to be made.".

Vanellope wanted to argue, she wanted to say that she would find a way to bring them back, that it was all going to be okay and that this decision they had made wasn't fair. But then she came and stepped in front of the girls, causing Vanellope's heart to drop. "Vanellope..no arguing, it's time you learned to say goodbye." Taffyta's copy said and smiled brightly at the girl. Vanellope immediately felt tears flow down her face and she wanted to argue with them all over again, but knew that she shouldn't.

"Vanellope, we are so proud of you, thank you for everything…as well as you Marshmallow" Taffyta's copy said as she eyed Marshmallow, tearing up. "You're welcome!" Marshmallow said between tears, the little treat felt absolutely terrible to hear that these girls wouldn't be returning with them but he knew that there was nothing he could do to help the situation. Taffyta's copy smiled and turned to the other girls, "Alright lets go." She said and the group started to walk off. Immediately the girls all disappeared leaving no trace behind of them, only Taffyta's copy remained and she turned to Vanellope for one final goodbye. "Stay sweet Vanellope." Taffyta's copy said as she caught the girl's eye and smiled lovingly at her, with that she was gone.

Vanellope quickly took Marshmallow's hand and smiled at the spot where her old friend had been standing just before she disappeared, "Stay sweet Taffyta.."

The night quickly descended upon Sugar Rush and with it the celebration began. The candy citizens were returned to Sugar Rush and they were quick to find Vanellope to thank her for her heroic deeds and saving Sugar Rush, along with Marshmallow. The two were showered with hugs, thank you's, and other celebrating gestures. Vanellope was practically dizzy with affection and love by the time she arrived to the castle entrance.

First she met up with Red and Ralph, feeling overjoyed the two were safe and not off killing each other. Then she had a tearful reunion with the popcorn family as their boat arrived and sent them straight to the castle celebration, Vanellope felt as if she was never going to see Jo, Ma, Pa, and Grammy again. But as they ascended the steps and pushed through the crowd, she burst into tears and was thankful they had not been harmed by Nelly's wrath. Following the two interactions, Vanellope was met with several Racers and Copies; all who wanted to tell them their own personal experience with Nelly and Turbo.

Even Gloyd was excited to see Vanellope and offered her a big hug as she approached him and his companion Rancis. The celebration was loud, filled with tears, joy and hugs, and all together everything Vanellope was hoping to see for this happy ending. Minus not seeing Taffyta, who the girl hadn't seen since she arrived at the castle.

"Where is Taffyta?" Vanellope asked when Marshmallow had finally broke away from the crowd, he looked hot and a little overwhelmed. "You haven't seen Taffyta yet?" Marshmallow laughed, but truly thought for a moment when he saw Vanellope's face and how she honestly couldn't wait for jokes. "I think she's in your bedroom…?" he questioned and smiled at the girl, as he was dragged away by another candy citizen wanting to know about his adventure.

Vanellope smiled and walked through the party to get to the hallway, leading to the stairs that would eventually take her to her room. Her heart was beating fast as she got closer to the door, worrying how she was going to manage to see the girl after leaving her back when Nelly had challenged her. Although she knew Taffyta would only be concerned for her safety and would probably just want to hear the details of the events, Vanellope still worried that she would be mad at her for everything and would have to make it up to her somehow.

The Princess stopped just before she opened the door to her room, feeling her breaths coming out in large takes. "It's amazing I can defeat two evil tyrants but I can't even talk to my girlfriend.." Vanellope thought, jokingly. Taking one last final breath, the girl opened the door and walked in. Vanellope sighed as she was met with an empty room, building up that courage for no reason, and turned to leave only to be met with Taffyta right behind her.

"Geeze…" Vanellope said, having the skin jump right off of her, "You fri.." she started to say but was silenced by Taffyta's lips upon hers. Vanellope stumbled back and nearly fell into the doorway with the girl's intense kiss but managed to catch her foot and squeeze the girl into her as they deepened their kisses. "Vanellope..you idiot.." Taffyta cried as she grabbed her face and broke the kiss, "I could literally kill you..I hope you know that.." she said and Vanellope gulped, knowing the girl honestly could if she wanted to.

"I'm sorry..I thought.." Vanellope started to say but felt ashamed and looked down to the floor. Taffyta smiled and embraced the girl, "I know..it's okay, I get it.." she said and she could feel Vanellope's tears on her cheek. "I just didn't want to lose you again, it was all my fault.." Vanellope sobbed into her neck as Taffyta ran her hand along her back. The two stayed like that for a while, Vanellope getting all her tears out while Taffyta tried not to cry and held her close.

They were almost interrupted by a lone candy child who had wandered upstairs and immediately fled the other way when they saw the two girls standing there holding each other. Vanellope laughed and pulled Taffyta into the room, shutting it behind them and wiping her tears away. "Gah I'm a mess.." she laughed and Taffyta shook her head, "It was a big job…and you did it, again, I'm so proud of you!". Vanellope shook her head, "We did it again, I got by with all my friends there helping me.." Vanellope said and held tightly onto Taffyta's hand, "and my girlfriend.".

Taffyta blushed then and let go of Vanellope's hand, causing Vanellope to shoot her a hurtful look. "I'm sorry…I hate to ask this, in this way..but.." Taffyta started to say but trailed off, Vanellope continued to stare at her curiously wondering what she was about to say. Taffyta stood there silently for a moment, building up the courage to finally say what she had been wandering for all this time. "Are we actually dating though, are you really my girlfriend?" she finally blurted out causing Vanellope to blush.

Vanellope smiled, though her face was bright red, "Well..of course, don't you want to be?" she asked and Taffyta nodded her head. "Good, well then yes we are." Vanellope said again, she chuckled at the end trying to alleviate the awkwardness she was feeling. The two smiled thoughtfully at each other and held hands as they left the room, rejoining the party.

As the guests approached them one by one, they were asked numerous times about the nature of their relationship. How they seemed to be dating or that they had heard from others that they were into each other. Even Candlehead found her way through the crowd to question the two, like she had done several times before. But unlike any other time, Taffyta would make sure to set the record straight and tell anyone who was curious that they were indeed a couple.


	31. What about Turbo?

The arcade was closed the next day, which Vanellope was thankful for. Although everyone was itching to race again, they all figured a day to officially take a break and simply enjoy each other's existence was just what they needed after the terrible events that had happened recently. The Copies and Racers alike spent the day practicing races, taking turns with each other's karts, and relaxing.

Taffyta joined the group of racers without Vanellope, who had matters of her own to attend to, and enjoyed getting to see everyone so happy again. The candy citizens joined at the sidelines, happy to be back at Sugar Rush and not on some island in the middle of the ocean. The popcorn family had front row seats and was cheering Taffyta on as she brought her kart to the front of the line.

"Vanellope not joining us today?" Candlehead asked as she brought her kart up next to the girl, Taffyta smiled and shook her head. "Marshmallow and her have things to do today.." Taffyta said with a big smile on her face. Candlehead did her usual look that indicated that she wanted to know more, but Taffyta remained silent still, not wanting to discuss anymore. Vanellope had awakened that morning on a mission, whatever that was; it was nobody else's business.

* * *

A red and white kart shot through the portal of Sugar Rush's game and zoomed down the hallway of the giant lobby. Game characters of every kind gasped and screamed as it weaved back and forth to avoid them; Vanellope ducked her head as she continued to drive the kart at full speed with Marshmallow in the passenger seat.

"Vanellope, seriously..there are better ways we could do this!" Marshmallow hollered, clutching onto the kart's seat for dear life. Vanellope continued to focus on her destination up ahead, the hidden portal to Turbo's game, but offered the little treat a small smile for his pain. "Vanellope, what if the game's been unplugged…we'll hit the wall!" Marshmallow yelped and ducked his head as they came upon the wall. Vanellope flinched, worried for a moment that they would indeed hit the solid wall, and braced for impact.

Luckily the kart flew straight through the hidden wall and the two let out a loud sigh of relief as they continued down the path leading into Turbo and the Turbo twin's game. Unlike before, the light at the end of the tunnel arrived much quicker and blinded them as they came to a stop on the simple pixelated track. Vanellope hopped out of the kart and went to help Marshmallow down as well, seeing as he was wobbly from the intense driving.

The two friends took a step or two away from the kart and looked it over, feeling sad. "The Turbo twins never did regenerate in our game…so my only hope is that they along with Turbo somehow regenerated back here." Marshmallow stated looking up at Vanellope who looked down at her feet, not wanting to make eye contact. The Turbo Twins had done absolutely nothing wrong, both times, and were deleted by the evil Nelly along with their old nemesis Turbo. It felt unfair that they would be deleted like this, especially since their game had been fixed.

"We can only hope Marsh.." Vanellope stated quietly and smiled at him the best she could. They could only hope, hope that someday the fallen racers would be able to come back to their game or that Taffyta's copy would be able to rule again. "Unfortunately..if they come back, so will Turbo and Nelly.." Vanellope added, she could see Marshmallow begin to shake at that. "The price to pay so that our game can be in harmony.." he said silently, Vanellope almost didn't hear.

The two stood there for a while, watching the kart and remembering the small memories they had with the Twins before turning around and heading back to their own game. "Princess, even though our friends aren't here with us.." Marshmallow said as they exited the game portal, walking slowly through the lobby, which still had chaos going through it from their recent race to Turbo's game. "I'm glad I was able to have the memories we did with them…even though they are short." Marshmallow said, smiling brightly at her.

Vanellope smiled down at Marshmallow, thinking about the memories as well, "Me too Marsh."

* * *

The old man had come into the arcade late that evening to check on the games and make sure nothing was amiss, occasionally people would wander by the arcade late in the evenings when it was closed or on days it seemed less active than normal and cause trouble, the old man would stop by to ease his worried mind or possibly work a little in the back office. Regardless of the reasons today, he was determined to check on his game, Turbo Time.

Opening up the back door to the arcade, the old man wasted no time in checking all the games of the arcade. None of them seemed tampered with and the front door to the arcade was closed tight and locked, which caused the old man to smile. Turning back to head to the break room, the old man made a stop by the back office as well to grab some papers to work on while he observed his favorite game.

Most papers included bills for the arcade, mainly bills for the recently bought games, and the old man needed to sort through them all after he checked on the game again. The old man opened the door to the break room and clicked on the lights; they flickered a few moments and then completely turned on illuminating the white room. He eyed the game in the corner of the room and went to set his papers down on the staff table, reaching into his pockets and pulling out some quarters.

Placing the money in, the game beeped alive and the old man waited for the character of the game to arrive. One minute passed and nothing appeared on the screen causing the old man to sigh in frustration. "I'm honestly going to have to pitch this game.." he grumbled, knowing he wouldn't actually pitch it just yet but was tempted to with the way it was acting. He would definitely attempt to fix the game a few more times before he just pitched it but he would definitely unplug it for a while until then.

Turning away from the game, the old man felt rather bitter and sat down to tackle the bills of the arcade to take his mind away from his treasured broken game. But as he did he heard a small noise from behind him, "It's turbo time!". The old man turned, surprised, with a huge smile on his face and rushed to the game to look over the screen. There on the screen was the little character, Turbo, in his red and white kart smiling brightly back at him and waiting for him to press start. The old man's heart swelled up with joy and he placed his hands over the controls, pressing the start, and said "Hey Turbo, I missed you old friend."


	32. Readers

Dearest Readers-

Thank you again for reading Sugar Rush: Unplugged and for sticking around to read Sugar Rush: Deleted. I feel deeply honored to have you all read this story I came up with for Taffyta and Vanellope, Marshmallow, The Racers and the Copies! You all inspire me daily to do better with my writing and your feedback is much appreciated.

I have plans for my third official story that will not have Taffyta and Vanellope as the main characters, I plan to have a new character that will feature Taffyta and Vanellope somewhat..but not as much as it has in my last two stories. I hope you will all look forward to it soon! I will be taking a few days off from writing to plan and work on my first chapter.

It's still in the VERY early stages of my thought process..so we will see where this next story leads! Hopefully online for you all to see.

Again thank you for all your views, messages, reviews, favorites and follows!

I enjoyed writing both stories for you to read, I hope you enjoyed it as well!

-Talk Pillow


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